No Going Back
by Ms CT-782
Summary: Continuation from It Happened So Fast. Our favourite soldiers are now in the midst of the most bitter battle of all; the one for their lives. A story of heart ache, brotherhood, survival and a love that knew no bounds.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

* * *

I was left, lying on the library floor with a gaping wound down the right side of my body.

To this day I will never understand how I survived such a strike.

I remember voices, _his voice_ in particular as he hovered above me and yelled out orders in the same rich baritone I knew and loved.

I was picked up and taken to an apartment.

There I could smell her familiar scent and caught glimpses of the gold strands of her hair. There was lots of movement and whispers as they discussed what to do with me.

There wasn't enough bacta patches.

It's funny isn't it? The things you remember, the words that stick in your mind.

The Jedi weapon had sliced me open from under my right arm down to my hip. The energy pulse had quarterized the vessels, leaving them open and weeping plasma.

I was then pulled to my feet and stood limply as they wound something around my torso.

Poor Olphina, she sounded so desperate.

"_We need to get her out of here Fox,"_ I heard her say, _"they'll hunt her down. Where's Rex and Piia?"_

"Dead."

That was the first word I had spoken.

And I swore it would be my last.

"_Reed, we need to get onto Reed. He'll be able to airlift her somewhere, anywhere."_ Fox was watching me for any sign of reaction the whole time he spoke.

"_Oriis is too obvious."_ She was right of course.

My body had been moved and they would be back to find me; to make sure I was dead.

I wanted to say '_leave me, let them come_,' but again, I wouldn't talk.

Jesse on the other hand was an entirely different matter.

The Force choking hold had obliterated his voice box completely.

We made a fine pair, the two of us.

The one who wouldn't and the other who couldn't…

Talk.


	2. Chapter 2

One

* * *

There was no going back.

Not now.

Commander Fox was on autopilot, directing units to lock down the Senate building.

He strode through the familiar corridors with purpose.

His men, all looking to him to make sense of what they had just been ordered to perform.

Execute Order 66.

Eliminate the Jedi.

The commander however had a bigger agenda; keeping the politicians and all off world dignitaries _safe. _

He was methodical, efficient; and completely ignorant of the drama unfolding in the building opposite.

The Jedi Temple.

But once the two Senate towers had been secured his attention was directed to the smoke now billowing from the historic building.

"Lieutenant."

"Sir?"

"Grab a unit and rendezvous with me in 5 at the entrance to the Jedi Temple."

"Copy that sir," Vail replied and turned to gather the men.

'_What have we started?'_ Fox muttered under his breath as he stared through his macros, _'what have we done?'_

.

Jesse moved forward slowly.

The carnage had continued to another room and finally all was silent.

Crawling along the floor, each rasping breath brought another fresh wave of insurmountable pain.

Tears now blurred his eyes, but he had one focus as he continued to claw his way over the dead.

A red symbol.

One any trooper would sigh with relief at the sight of on a battlefield.

_But this time, the medic was the one in need._

Kix was lying on his side. His helmet had come slightly ajar and Jesse carefully removed it, all the time praying to whichever God that would listen that his best friend had survived.

His face crumpled and he sat back on his haunches, rocking slightly at the sight of his oldest friend.

Deep down Jesse knew the wound was fatal.

Skywalker was the best at wielding the sword and he had witnessed enough over the course of the war to know a lethal blow when it was delivered.

His eyes were closed and Kix for all intents and purposes just appeared asleep.

_Calm._

Finally at peace.

The molten plastoid in the middle of his chest the only indicator that he had been struck.

The irony that Kix had survived the war, and the mental anguish that had accompanied it, only to die defending his captain from the man they blindly followed into battle was too hard to bear.

A noise escaped Jesse's damaged throat, one of heartbreak as he leaned forward and struggled to move Kix onto his back.

It hurt too much to cry; even the simple act of mourning had been denied him.

There, Jesse lay down mute next to him, resting his head in the crook of his dead brothers shoulder and closed his eyes, willing his life to end as well.

.

"Move it men," Fox broke into a run towards the Temple, "I want a Guard at every level, is that understood?"

"Copy that commander."

Fox had made it his business to tap into the HQ list of deployments.

_Torrent Company?_

The 501st had been ordered to the building, but he hadn't even thought about the logistics of Skywalker leading them on a trail of terror.

Skywalker was _Jetii_ after all.

He stopped as he crashed through the internal doors, before he leaned down and pulled a Rodian Initiate over, checking for life.

That's when they both saw it; Vail looked up at him in question, neither of them speaking.

A blaster burn to the chest.

A soldier had killed this Jedi Youngling.

They had all heard the order when it was given.

Truth be told, Fox was glad that his men were in the Senate building and there were no Jedi around to execute.

_Could he have done it?_

He would never know.

He swallowed hard and continued through the building until he found himself on the third level and at another closed door, the Jedi Nursery. He stopped; the smell of discharged blaster pungent and steeled himself for what lay behind the enormous doors. Anger then spurred him forward as he growled and pushed one open.

He was too late.

Vail barged past him, his eyes drawn to the two soldiers with cerulean markings on their armour as Fox stood motionless.

.

The commander methodically checked each child for signs of life.

He needn't have bothered.

Torrent were known for their marksmanship and he knew that he would find no one alive.

Three younglings had huddled together, their hands still interlocked as they awaited their imminent death. He removed his helmet and crouched down low inspecting their tear streaked faces.

_How could this happen?_

His chest began heaving as he breathed through the realisation of what Skywalker had done when he noticed a lone figure in the centre of the room.

Lying on her back, her legs twisted underneath her was the people's Representative for Oriis.

"_Ah no_," he said a little too loudly as he moved over to her, "_no, no, no_," he continually repeated as he knelt down next to Skylar Gem.

.

"Just keep your bucket on closed comm _to me_ and aim high of each target. You got that?"

Coric's heart was racing at what he had just witnessed in the Jedi Nursery.

Rex? Kix? Both gone? A member of the Senate dead and the children; all the children. His captains last words kept repeating over and over again in his mind. _'You know who this is,' Rex had said. 'You know who this is?' _

_What did he mean, was the child his?_

The words kept coming no matter how hard he tried to block them out. He was also aware of how Whisk and Didge were both struggling to physically act out the order that they had been given. He knew he had some responsibility in amongst the mayhem to keep an eye out for them.

Whisk was a medic after all.

The two newer recruits to the 501st dropped behind Coric and followed _his_ order. Aiming high of the targets meant they were not responsible for any deaths.

Appo, on the other hand, hadn't missed a beat, along with the remainder of Torrent.

No one else was talking through internal comms.

They simply followed on behind Skywalker as the onslaught continued.

Some of the Younglings had even tried to put up a fight, raising their light sabres in self defence against the trained assassins. Coric's heart sank every time he saw a futile attempt.

They were outnumbered, and Skywalker himself would have had trouble against the sheer volume of weaponry.

_They were the peace keepers after all._

Unaware of the order given, most of the Jedi and Padawan were caught defenceless.

"Keep up Whisk, leave them alone," Coric noticed the medic stop and bend down to check on one boy, "we just need to see this one through."

Coric was desperate to get them back to base; there he could try and make sense of everything.

The noise was the worst.

Screaming from the victims and yelling from the soldiers.

Then silence.

Another room.

More dead.

Continually moving, continually killing.

.

Olphina had told him that Gem was in the Jedi Temple that day.

"_She's Force sensitive Fox, so is the child,"_ she had wailed as he told her what the order had said.

As it turned out, Olphina was justified in her concern.

Fox always had a soft spot for the young Oriian. He had done so from the minute he met her two years earlier.

She had survived a fatal crash that had killed the pilot and her father, then successfully treated a critically injured soldier before being discovered by an elite group of 501st. There she had met her dashing captain and together they re wrote history, ending the reign of two of the most detested Darthomir warriors.

Their love had challenged the establishment that had produced all of them, but none more so than CT-7567. A passionate affair, followed by a hasty marriage and culminating in the birth of a child; a child that symbolised a future, something denied every soldier by simple birth right. They were commodities after all, mass produced to fight an impossible war against machines.

But some men had sought out relationships and had secretly enjoyed a life outside the army, of which the commander was one.

Fox also had a soft spot for that child.

He had never spoken to the captain again after the _incident_ with ARC trooper 5555, but there had been a time when he raised an eyebrow at Rex one morning during a briefing at HQ.

Both men look tired from lack of sleep.

The child had cried well into the night, the noise not going unnoticed by _his_ senator in the adjacent apartment. Rex had guessed what he was alluding to and had smiled.

It was what Fox admired most about the captain; even though he was assigned to the most infamous unit in the Grand Army of the Republic, Rex never lost touch with his humanity, making him not only highly revered, but a good commanding officer to his men.

On a few occasions Piia had been brought into Olphina and together they had occupied her as Gem was engaged elsewhere. Sitting on the floor with the infant, Fox had dangled a small doll over the baby's head, all the time smiling and laughing at the innocence of youth.

But now, everything had changed.

Innocence was lost, or so it seemed, in one foul act of deception by the Chancellor.

They had all been used.

Every trooper bred to serve alongside the Jedi were now being utilised in an act so evil it defied all intelligent thought.

_Why? _

As he looked down at the blank, expressionless eyes and the halo of dark hair Fox grieved for the loss of life and of that innocence.

Everything suddenly became so complicated, and for the first time, he felt scared.

Commander Fox had raced against time, but this time, he was just too late.

.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two**

* * *

"Sir," Vail said quietly over his shoulder, but Fox didn't move. He kept staring at the woman lying in front of him when he realised that she had blinked. "Sir," he repeated a little more urgently, "awaiting orders sir."

With renewed optimism, Fox placed a finger under her chin, feeling for the vein.

_Thump…thump…thump_

It was slow, but strong. He then put his helmet back on and lifted her up into his arms and Gem made a small sound as the pain down her right side seared through her. He jostled her slightly to balance her weight before he turned to his lieutenant.

"One of our politicians has been compromised," his voice grew in strength as he looked over to Jesse on the floor, "get that soldier to his feet and follow me. Say nothing, do you hear me?"

"Copy that commander."

Vail lifted Jess up, who tried to stay with Kix.

"There's nothing we can do for him now Jess, we need to get you back to base."

But the commander had no intention of heading back to the GAR headquarters.

He wasn't sure what Vail would do if he knew that the young woman he was holding had the curse of the Jedi flowing through her.

_More importantly, why hadn't he done anything?_

Fox was silent as he walked through the Temple. His thoughts going over the Order and his confusion at not seeing it through. In his arms was a Force sensitive woman, she should be dead or interned, but instead he went to the one place he knew she would be safe.

He continued to hold her securely against his armour as men looked but parted to allow them through.

They all knew who she was; they had all seen what had happened at the Temple.

Turning down corridors and in and out of elevators, they were back to where her day began in no time at all.

If only she could press _rewind_ and start this day over.

If only she had heeded _his_ advice.

_If only._

.

She could hear them talking in hushed tones, Olphina's voice had become frantic as she asked Fox after her husband and daughter.

"Dead." One word, the only word she had spoken since being removed from the Jedi Nursery.

Everyone in the room stood silent. Gem was catatonic, her body moved like a puppet as clothing was removed and they tried in vain to mend all that Skywalker had delivered.

There was no mending this however.

"We need more bacta patches," Fox said gravely taking in the extent of damage.

The gaping wound was a red hot weeping mess. Too sensitive to touch, Gem had flinched at the salve as it was applied by the woman.

She heard them fuss over Jesse and was glad of the distraction, looking over at the other injured person in the room.

Both had been caught in the rampage.

Both had unfortunately survived.

Now they had to get off Coruscant.

"She's in shock," Fox stated as her body began to shake uncontrollably, her teeth chattering loudly, inadvertently turning the attention back to her.

"Olphina. Do you have some credits?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Well get them, along with any clothing that we can put in the packs."

Gemma watched as Olphina left the room, glad to have something to do other than watch in horror at her elected People's Representative in such a state.

"Vail, contact Lieutenant Reed. He's on Coruscant. In the barracks last time I saw him. And then strip down, give Gem your armour. You can handle questions dressed as 501st."

"Sir?" Vail was confused.

"Representative Gem needs to leave Coruscant immediately. CT-5597 can oversee her relocation to a safe place until all this," he struggled to find the right words, "all this drama has settled." Vail did as he was ordered; first comm'ing the pilot followed by the unclipping of his armour. He stood in his body glove and watched as Fox stripped down to his black shorts.

"Quick, help Jesse remove his armour," slowly it dawned on the Guard exactly what was slowly unravelling in front of him. Bound with bandages and wrapped in Olphina's scarves, Gem was brought to her feet and helped into the commanders body suit. The light weight material held the elaborate fabric in place, the pain of the pressure almost caused her to topple over. She then stood in a daze as Olphina and Vail clipped his armour back on around her.

Fox looked at Jesse, white from loss of blood.

"You're getting a promotion son," he said gently.

Jesse knew what was happening and if he was caught impersonating a senior officer they wouldn't even bother sending him back to Kamino, it would be a firing squad, probably by the men standing in front of him.

It didn't bother him, he had faced a squad once before.

This time it would be blessed relief.

Gem slumped slightly, being as tall as a clone meant that the armour looked passable, hopefully with all the drama unfolding on Coruscant, no one would notice the smaller frame under the plastoid.

Fox stood back and looked at the two impersonators. Vail had redressed in the infamous cerulean and Fox quickly stepped into a spare set of fatigues he had left in Olphina's wardrobe.

There was more movement and finally Reed entered the apartment.

Ever the quintessential pilot, composed and in control.

Until he saw her.

"Gem," he looked at the expressionless face in front of him.

"Reed, they need to get off Coruscant, now. Not to Oriis, too obvious," he turned the pilot away slightly and lowered his tone. "Rex and Piia are dead. Skywalker went on a rampage at the Temple. Do you think you can pull these two off as Guard? No one should question Jesse in my armour, Gem looks different, but I'm hoping upon _hope -_ "

"Leave it with me sir, I'll get them off and safe. I'll let you know where, when we arrive."

"No! I don't want to know. The less people that do the less likely they are to be found." He turned to Olphina who was now sitting, her legs having give way as actuality set in.

"Say your goodbyes Phina, they're going, now." Fox had taken charge again, and she resented him for it.

With a trembling lip she stood next to the woman in the man's armour. "Gem," she whispered, "I let you and Oriis down, could you ever forgive me?"

Reed opened his belt and grabbed two hypo's.

"If this is going to work, she needs to be able to keep up. Has she had some morpha?"

"No."

Reed then walked calmly over to the woman.

"This is going to smart Gem, but trust me, please, as I did in you all that time ago."

A small whimper escaped her as he plunged first the pain killer then the stim into her neck.

Reed grabbed both her arms and waited for the second to take effect.

Gem took in a deep breath as the room began to sway and the cogs in her mind started to crank over once again. Then the reality of everything came racing towards her. She looked at her arms and the familiar white covering them.

Everything seemed surreal, but with Reed standing in front of her, she knew that the nightmare must have been real.

Her husband and baby were both gone.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no noise came out, the terror visible on her face. Reed quickly pulled her into him, the plastoid clacking against one another as he waited for the trembling to slow.

"Come on Gemma, one more test to go."

It was something they shared. Each time there had been a hurdle on the mid rim moon, she would say it was a test, one they had to endure and pass. There was never a question of failure.

But this time the stakes were higher.

She then looked at Jesse and the others standing in front of her. She owed him, she had to get him off Ground Zero, do the right thing by Fox who was risking everything to do so.

She nodded as Vail lowered his helmet down over her head.

"Just breath normally ok, let the helmet do the rest."

Rex had said the same words to her once, a long time ago.

Another surge of grief made her sway slightly.

Reed looked at the two Guard and nodded at the Senator.

"Let's go," he said.

Fox stood next to Olphina who was silently crying, his strong arm around her tiny frame and watched as his armour marched first out into the corridor. Vail followed with his head up on Gems right; his lover's deece pressed hard against his chest.

.

Jesse couldn't cope with the constant stream of messages flicking through Fox's HUD and blinked a couple of times to turn them down to silent, the information was vital, even an injured, defecting soldier knew that. The pain in his neck had abated, the pharma's doing their job in controlling the agony he knew would soon return.

Soldiers moved aside as they saw the formidable red armour and the small entourage following. Jesse was doing a great job impersonating Fox, right down to the swagger of his enormous kama.

They entered an elevator after passing patrols going through to the barracks when Reed swung around.

"Right. This is where it gets tricky, Jess, you up to this _ner vod_."

He nodded once, not being able to talk was going to be difficult if he was asked a question from another officer enroute to the Hanger deck.

"Let me do all the talking OK?"

The doors silently opened and controlled chaos surrounded them. They all knew the frenetic activity would be an excellent distraction.

Gem looked around and noticed a repulsor stretcher being rushed through the area. Their armour was obvious to even non military personnel. Another commando held tight to the transparasteel railing, guiding it through the sea of troopers and momentarily their eyes locked, he wore the same look of despair that she hid under the guise of the helmet.

_She knew that face._

Thinking of anything up to that point had been difficult and she was glad of the mental challenge.

_Darman?_

Her thoughts were quickly abrupted as they were stopped by a soldier in white. With no markings on his pristine armour, it took them all by surprise.

"Sir," they heard him say and stand to attention.

What struck the four was his voice.

It was different.

They all heard it at, and it stopped them dead in their tracks.

"At ease," Reed said as Jess pushed forward, Gem and Vail following from behind.

They saw the craft, the one Reed flew in between Corellia and Coruscant, the one that would take them to safety.

They were almost there when they heard_ that voice_ again.

"I'm sorry sir, we have orders to halt all air traffic on and off Coruscant."

Jesse stopped and turned around quickly before looking the soldier up and down as Fox had done on more than one occasion to him in the past.

It was intimidating and the soldier backed off slightly before standing his ground.

"Commander, sir, we have our orders."

Reed stepped forward. "Stand down trooper; you _do know_ who this is don't you?"

"Sir, yes sir, but _as I_ \- "

"Well you have new orders," Reed continued.

Jesse nodded and moved to the craft. His heart was racing and he felt feint, but stood as erect as he could and ignoring the trooper, walked on.

They were almost there when they heard the clip of metal. Jesse knew that sound. _Fek_, he'd done it often enough; engaging his weapon ready to fire.

He turned slowly, waiting, no, _wanting_ for it all to be over. The dull ache was throbbing and he was tired, just so tired.

Vail looked at him and stepped out in front of Gem to hide her smaller frame. He was wearing the infamous blue. They had hap hazardously washed the breast plate down, but some blood splatters could still be seen. He looked menacing, even if underneath the helmet he was struggling with his orders.

He was loyal to Fox, that he knew for sure.

_But why was Representative Gem leaving? Wouldn't she be safer on Coruscant getting medical treatment?_

"Commander Fox, what are your orders sir?"

Reed thought quickly, and pressed his hand into the small of Jesse's back. Jess got the hint and placed both hands on his hips and moved his head slightly as if he was talking allowing the other man to play out the charade from behind. This soldier had no markings on his armour and maybe, just maybe they could bluff their way through.

"We are taking this craft to Dantooine. We have reports of an insurgency involving Republic troopers. Our flight path has been logged with HQ." Jess looked around at the men running through the deck before coming to a rest on the young soldier.

"Sir," the soldier diligently flicked through the manifest on the data pad, "there is no flight path listed." Reed had to give him credit. This soldier was standing his ground, even with the level of authority in front of him.

"Well, look again!" Reed's bellowing was intimidating enough and Jesse turned and walked up the ramp into the craft.

_They all held their breath as they followed the soldier wearing red._

It would be then, if they weren't believed, they would all feel the heat of the blaster burn in their back.

Reed rushed ahead as Jesse slumped into a chair removing his helmet. His blue Republic tattoo luminescent against his pale white skin. He took deep breaths as Vail helped direct Gem to the ground.

Jesse looked up as he saw Vail standing in front of him shaking his head.

"Jess, look. I'm sorry. I – _I_ _can't_."

Jesse went to speak, drawing himself up from the chair, but the pain of trying coupled with the fact that he couldn't sobering.

The noise coming from him so alien it was too painful for Vail to hear.

"I'm sorry Jess, good luck Representative Gem," he said as he quickly turned and almost stumbled back down the ramp.

Reed could hear what was happening from behind and once he saw the white armour leave the vessel he simply closed the ramp door and continued preparing for lift off.

Gem gathered herself together and went to Jesse's side where they grabbed hold of each other.

They then slid back down onto the floor together as the craft lifted off the Hanger bay deck and moved slowly into space.

"_Shh_," she whispered quietly into his ear, and began rocking, it was maternal and natural. She continued over and over until he finally succumbed to the past four hours and slipped silently into unconsciousness.

Goodbye my lover.

Goodbye my friend.

You have been the one for me. [1]

[1] Goodbye My Lover. James Blunt &amp; Sacha Skarbek. Back to Bedlam (2005)


	4. Chapter 4

Three

* * *

The past four hours had been horrific.

Three stood out from the rest, and took heart in the fact that they had survived the carnage that had cost them their captain's life.

Most of the Jedi had been exterminated.

A few had escaped.

Rumour had it Kenobi had survived the 212th on Upatau and was now taking on Skywalker on Mustafar.

_Rumours, all rumours._

Coric dodged members of his unit, eyeing off the two youngest as he did. He flicked his head towards the refreshers and kept heading towards his own quarters.

The sergeant knew Rex had taken a shine to them and he felt responsible now his captain…

_His _captain.

The image came flooding back. The yelling, the shattering of the enormous window before he was lost forever.

Rex was gone, along with his friend and colleague in the other medic Kix.

'_Jesse, you di'kut,'_ he thought as he swung into his room and ripped his helmet off.

There he just stood, unable to comprehend the enormity of such an event. With quick thinking he had ordered the young recruits to aim high, an act of treason, but one he could live with.

The alternative unthinkable.

.

Didge and Whisk were completely silent as they unclipped their armour and avoided eye contact. They grabbed their toilette bag, and kept to their usual routine. Once the warm water hit his face, Didge felt he could finally breathe again.

Whisk on the other hand, wasn't as easily comforted and crumpled down as the timer clicked over, dry wrenching into the corner of the cubicle.

Coric walked in and saw the two of them.

"_Fek!_ Man up will ya? If anyone sees the two of you reacting this way it's straight back to Kamino, or going on what I've just witnessed, _worse!"_

Coric might have been holding it together, but inwardly he was a mess. His eyes bloodshot from the silent tears he openly shed in the confines of his bucket over the massacre at the hand of his general.

"Get up! Get up Whisk," he ordered walking into the water and hauling him to his feet. With mucous still streaming from his nose and mouth, Coric pulled the young medic in close and whispered in his ear.

"Shower quickly and get dressed. We have ration call in ten and you had better have your _osik _together before then. Got it?"

He nodded as Coric shot a glance over to Didge. He knew the sniper was the one on the knife edge; they had a reputation of going rogue after catastrophic events.

"You ok?"

"Affirmative sir," he replied grabbing his towel and looking at his vattie struggling in the cubicle next to him.

Coric had nervously chewed the inside of his mouth raw, the tissue swollen and rough from the evening's attention. He ran his tongue across the raised area then turned and left the refresher, his armour wet from entering the cubicle.

"Fek," they heard him say as he tried to wipe it down with his hand.

.

They sat at the far table at the end of the Mess hall. Whisk and Didge had gone through the motions, standing in line with their trays then moving to a quiet table out of the way followed by the prerequisite eating coupled with benign conversation.

There were new men also.

Their armour pristine with no markings. Those soldiers sat alone, barely talking as they methodically picked up, and chewed their allocated rations.

Didge was on hyper alert, "what do ya make of them?" he asked as he continued to watch them silently eat.

Whisk just shook his head, not interested in starting any conversation about a new batch of brothers.

He was too intrigued by the weird level of calm.

Even after a few days back from deployment, the room would always be abuzz with men talking through the battle just fought – brothers lost, heroes made and major Jedi _fek _ups. But nothing; there was simply_ nothing_ to suggest that an order of such magnitude had just gone down in the heart of Coruscant city.

"I don't know about you, but I feel as though I'm in some sick holovid and I'm waiting to wake up." The food, which was flavourless before was less palatable now as he continued to put pieces into his mouth, participating in the façade. Even the familiar aroma of freshly brewed _caf _offered no comfort.

"Just shut up and do as the sarge said." Didge was doing alright. He had taken every word Coric had said to heart, and even as dreadful and unimaginable as the evening had been, his thoughts were constantly on another.

_Sats._

Usually Whisk was the one offering up sage advice, but the medic had been compromised.

His tenure had been tested, and just when he thought he could almost get through the meal, Appo walked in.

Laughing loudly, he was still dressed in his armour.

Everyone knew the colour and smell; the metallic scent that had been sprayed onto his armour during the cull.

It was as rare as a black swan; an unforseen event with incomprehensible consequences.

As if in a trance, Whisk stood and walked slowly over to the table at the front of the room.

"Whisk! What the - " Didge hissed at him as he watched dumbfounded, unable to move.

One foot after the other, Whisk didn't know what he was going to do other than someone had to call Appo on what he had just ordered them all to participate in.

There he stood at the end of the table, his arms limp at his sides and looked at the men seated.

Their laughter slowly stopped and they turned to the man dressed in crimson fatigues.

Appo looked up, his eyes fuelled from the adrenaline of battle, his hand clasping a plastimug of steaming _caf_.

"Do I have something on my face medic?" He said and a couple of men sniggered.

Whisk continued to stare at the liquid in the lieutenant's plastimug, fascinated at the curlicues of steam rising, capturing with them, the once alluring aroma.

"I said, do-you-have-a-problem there soldier?" Appo felt uncomfortable, it was bred in him.

Always self conscious around other 501st members, he knew the playing field had now changed in his favour, placing him for once, in a position of power.

Appo slowly stood to take on the other soldier face to face.

Coric walked in just in time to see Whisk head down to the table of men still in armour. He moved with speed towards the obviously mentally distressed trooper and put an arm around him.

"Looks good doesn't it Whisk? Here, let's both grab a _caf_ each and leave the lieutenant to enjoy his before he hits the refresher."

Appo turned on Coric faster than a Gully rat out of an aquaduct.

"It's _commander,_ sergeant."

The medic was completely taken aback.

"I'm sorry sir?" He questioned foolishly.

"I said," Appo spoke slowly as if to make the point, "its _commander,_ not lieutenant, _sergeant_."

_The hut'uun had been given a commission for killing the captain?_

Coric took in a breath to contain his anger as every man at the table held theirs.

A smirk crossed Appo's face.

He knew that the medic had never particularly liked him, and without the captain stepping in to back him up, the sergeant would be feeling alone and vulnerable.

"And since _when_ does a _sergeant_ order a _commander_ to the refresher?"

Coric shook his head slightly to refocus. He knew Appo had a particularly short fuse, but he had one up his sleeve.

"My apologies sir. It's just that the regs stipulate that no blood stained armour is allowed in the mess," intonating to a large spray on his vambrance.

Appo looked at the splatter of brown blood along his left arm before he turned to Coric. The promotion had expanded his already overly paranoid ego. He then looked around at the others seated before he moved within a centimetre of his protagonist's face.

Coric stood straight as a pin.

"I'm watching you sergeant."

"Copy that _commander_."

Appo couldn't pick fault with him.

Regs were regs, after all.

.

"Did you see how they reacted? None of them flinched or said anything about what happened back at the temple."

Coric sat silent as Didge continued, "I mean the captain is _dead_ and no one has said anything? I just don't understand?"

"I don't understand either, but if we are going to make it through we need to stick together. No more questions and no more raising Appo's ire, you got that Whisk?"

"Yes sarge."

"I wonder," Coric began.

"Wonder what sir?" Didge could see Coric grappling with something.

An idea, a thought, something to explain the unexplainable.

"Nothing," he snapped back to the present, "just watch yourselves, alright?"

"Understood sir," they both replied as he left the Mess.

.

The usual scraping of boots and raucous banter welcomed the 212th back to triple Zero. Tired and happy, they were the unit hand picked by Kenobi to fight it out with Grevious on Upatau.

It was a double edged sword.

Grevious was gone, but Kenobi had got away.

Commander Cody was still smarting from the fact that he had just handed the Jedi his light sabre seconds before the order came through.

_Fekking Republic timing yet again._

He signed off the transport and saw himself to his room.

He diligently removed all his armour and continued to strip down before he headed to the refresher to clean up.

He even allowed himself a short whistle during the three-minute wash.

Returning in a fresh black body glove he went about the ritual of his office.

Upatau had seen the end to the war.

This messy business with the Jedi had been put to rest, and he could now concentrate on his ritualistic regime of running the 212th. He knew the drill precisely.

Rosters.

Ordinance.

Armaments.

Cody decided it all could wait, and instead went to the Mess to grab some _caf._

_His first deviation._

The usual; black with no sweetener.

Within 10.1 minutes, he sat back down at his desk and took the first sip – it was pure heaven and he savoured it a little longer than he usually would. He then turned himself to the work on his desk; the communiqués were banking up, the green light indicating a line of stored messages.

Republic HQ needed him for a meeting at the barracks; he would leave in approximately 20 standard.

He had just enough time to go through the numbers, check the status of all commanding officers of units on deployment.

In the not so distant past, Cody would brace himself and look through for one number in particular.

CT-7567.

Its presence on any list would more than likely elevate his heart rate and he would steel himself to read on and find out how, when and why that number was listed.

But this time he didn't.

_Another deviation._

The curser continued to blink in front of him. He gave in to its insistence and hit the replay button and sat back to listen.

A female's voice.

One he did recognise.

"_Cody? Cody where are you? We're worried. Piers and I are worried about you? Is it true? Is it true about the Jedi?"_

He cut the transmission and depressed another button.

Message deleted.

Twelve minutes had passed and he needed to redress in his armour if he was to make the meeting at the barracks Head Quarters.

But just not the armour he arrived back from Upatau in.

The new set that had been delivered to his room when he was in the refresher.

The new set without any markings at all to suggest the seasoned veteran who would be wearing it.

"_Cody. Are you alright? We can't believe the reports on the Holonet. The Jedi, all gone. Kenobi? What of General Kenobi?"_

Message deleted.

He methodically snapped and clicked each piece in place until he came to the helmet and stopped midway of lifting it up.

At this point Cody wavered.

He looked it over for a minute and hesitated as he listened to her voice.

His eyes shiny from a memory.

"_Codes please. I'm worried about you. Comm when you get the chance OK?"_

Message deleted.

He lifted his new helmet up and placed it over his head.

He was no longer Commander and Chief of the 212th.

He was no longer the second in command to Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi.

He was now simply CC-2224.

The seal of his helmet marked a new day.

One there was no turning back from.

He then walked out of his office, the automatic door silently closing behind him.

The private comm on his desk sounded and another message was recorded, the light innocently blinking in desperation.

"_Cody. Cody it's me. I just, I just want to let you know that I love you. That's all, I guess."_

Message deleted….

.


	5. Chapter 5

**Four**

* * *

The flight to Corellia was quiet.

The thrum of the engine comforting considering the drama in leaving Coruscant.

Reed didn't move from the pilot seat until he was confident they had managed to convince the Republic that they were leaving on official business.

He wasn't even sure what that meant; other than there were no fighters following or tracking him once they hit hyperspace.

He knew the security at the Lielais Bralis air base was lax at the best of times, his comings and goings not even requiring a flight manifest logged with the men in the tower.

But things had suddenly changed. Reed was now aiding and abetting a soldier that was AWOL.

He didn't even factor in the politician.

He had done worse for her over the course of the war.

Transporting _procured_ scientific equipment to the house on Oriis; not to mention an injured ARC.

He had committed treason on more than one occasion for the People's Representative. Why should this be any different?

He set the craft down and contacted air traffic control.

"Lieutenant Reed transporting two military personal to the Republic barracks."

His slip of the tongue went unnoticed.

"Copy that Lieutenant. Who you got on board?"

He gave a chuckle, trying to act casual, "just two desk jockeys. No one important."

"You get caught up in all that drama on Corrie?"

"Nah, I steer clear of the trigger happy white jobs. Nasty business with the Jedi though, who would have thought they were planning to overthrow the government the ungrateful _shabuirs_."

"Yeah, who'd have thought huh? You have clearance Reed. Enjoy your _lay over_," he laughed and Reed knew exactly what he was alluding to.

"Thanks Webb. I'll check in when I bug out."

"Copy that lieutenant."

Reed smiled to himself.

It had gone to plan.

Again.

.

"You did what?"

"Quieten down Cariss, they're in the next room."

Reed had taken them to the apartment he shared with his partner. He was right in that the commotion happening another world away had meant the powers that be weren't interested in three clones wandering off a diplomatic transport that began it's journey on Coruscant.

No one even bothered to meet the flight, too busy watching the unimaginable unfold in the heart of the core worlds.

With another stim and shot of Morpha, both Gem and Jesse had managed to walk unassisted to an awaiting transport where they were whisked away to the more salubrious side of town.

"I can't believe you put _me_ in danger bringing them here!" Cariss was furious and Gem listened to the low tones in which Reed returned her argument.

"The morning. They need to be gone by the morning," she shrilled from the confines of their shared bedroom.

"I'm sorry about the child, I really am, but this is loyalty beyond anything she did for you!"

"She saved my life!" Reed finally cracked. "Don't you get it? Without her I would be _dead_ after the crash or _dead_ as soon as I set foot back on Coruscant. You just don't get it do you?"

"Apparently not."

Reed continued to argue his point, regaining control of his tone.

"No! Definitely not! This is just too much! Anyway, why was _she_ in amongst all of this? Huh? Answer me that?"

He couldn't.

Gem looked at Jesse. She knew he neck must have been sore as he was now drooling and wiping the accumulated saliva away to avoid swallowing all together. He needed medical assistance if he was going to survive the immediate trauma to his throat, let alone the impending one of dehydration. She winced as she attempted to lift herself up from the couch, moving around the apartment. The bickering in the next room had dulled and Reed came out rubbing his hands through his hair, and Gem knew he was struggling with breaking the news of their departure to them both.

"It's OK Reed, we heard," Gem looked over to Jesse who struggled to smile. "We'll move on at first light, you have my word."

Reed looked defeated, a far cry from the soldier that had taken charge the previous day and got them off Coruscant. But Cariss was unpredictable, that he had learned over the course of the war. Her influential parents could make things _difficult_ for him and he didn't need an excuse for them to turn on their daughter's choice in a partner. They had thought she would tire of the clone soldier and move on to a more appropriate suitor, but Cariss had stayed true to her word in defying them.

Reed knew full well his presence in the relationship was more an act of defiance than ardour.

"I'm sorry Gem, I - "

"Please, Reed, you and Cariss have done more than enough." The blonde haired woman was now standing behind him.

"You have to understand Representative Gem, this places both Reed and myself in a situation that could be construed as antagonistic to the authorities."

"I understand perfectly Cariss." There had never been any love lost between these two women.

"There are blankets and spare pillows in the laundry. Help yourselves," she turned and closed the bedroom door behind her.

"Here, I'll get them," Reed said as he moved towards the small utilities room.

Reed retrieved the bedding and looked at Gem as she snuggled under the doona. "I can't say how sorry I am Gem. The captain, Piia - " he couldn't finish the sentence, the words catching with the emotion in his chest.

"Let me make a few calls in the morning and I'll get you two to another safe house."

"Thanks Reed," she replied, attempting to smile as she watched him walk, head down into the bedroom.

Gem closed her eyes and tried to block out her thoughts but they tore at her again; the deepest of wounds that would forever be open, raw and oozing just like the one down her side. She would need to draw upon that pain; use it as a constant reminder of what she had survived and lost in one foul swoop.

.

Reed opened the bedroom door at 0500. He looked around before he realised they had both gone. The bedding folded and placed neatly on the couch, both Fox and Vail's armour stacked on the top.

"See, you didn't have to worry," he said sarcastically. 'they're gone."

Cariss placed her hand up to his shoulder, a look of relief crossed her face and he immediately knew the relationship was over.

Reed walked over to a note that had been left for him. He read the words she had scribbled in haste on the flimsy and crumpled it up in his right hand as he turned into the bedroom to retrieve his bag and armour.

"Reed! Oh, come on? There's no need to get all shirty! Come back to bed?"

He pushed past her and stepped out of the apartment, feeling truly free for the first time in his life.

.

"Where's Marek?" Freya asked as she waddled into the kitchen.

Echo was sitting at the table, finishing a nerf steak sandwich and smiled at the sight of his wife's rotund abdomen.

"With Stoyan, down at the nets," he said as he pulled her in close. He was enjoying watching this pregnancy continue, fondly rubbing a hand over the area where the baby was happily growing.

Marek was now a rambunctious eighteen month old; constantly talking he was also a shadow to his _papa Stoyan_. The two had hit it off instantly and Echo was happy the relationship kept the former Jedi from leaving and continuing his drifter existence alone.

They both heard the familiar cry at the same time.

"I was wondering how long it would be before he had to come back," Freya smiled as she went to get out of the chair.

"No, you sit. I'll _save_ Stoyan," Echo laughed as he stood.

But when he opened the door, only the toddler was there, crying on the front landing.

"Hey, there little guy," Echo said bending down to pick up son, looking for Stoyan, "_sshhh_," he continually whispered as he jostled the infant at his hip.

Marek continued to wail, increasing in intensity as Echo tried in vain to soothe him. Pointing behind him and swinging wildly in his fathers arms, Marek indicated an area just past the tree line.

Echo strained to look and panic filled him.

Had they been found?

His biggest fear since reuniting with Freya and his son. Being discovered by the Republic now haunted his dreams, both day and night.

He rushed back inside the house, "Frey, take Marek and lock all the doors OK?"

"Echo, what is it?"

"Just do as I say."

She knew by his tone that something bad was happening and took the screaming toddler and closed the door quickly. Echo had grabbed the weapon located above the architrave and flicked the safety off as he quietly scanned the area where Marek's stubby fingers had pointed.

He found him, face down in the dirt.

"Stoyan? What the?"

He knelt down and flipped the Jedi over.

"Freya," he yelled at the top of his voice, "Freya!"

Echo listened as Stoyan attempted to talk, the mumbling confirming all his fears.

"Freya, call an ambulance. _NOW!_"

.

"You have to help us." The doctor looked at the two standing in front of him.

It was 0330 and she had contacted the emergency number listed on the front of the medical surgery.

"You _have _to help us," she stressed again, "you took the oath, you can't turn us away."

Gem knew that and stepped back, bearing both hands showing the doctor that she concealed no weapons. They looked like criminals, Jesse hooded and cowering behind her. Gem herself unsteady on her feet, constantly scanning the street for police patrols.

The man worked the locks, bending down to release the sensor at floor level and with trepidation, opened the transparent door.

"You should go to the hospital," he said eyeing off the man with a hood hiding his face. She ignored him and guided Jesse into the warmth of the waiting room.

"My husband was in a bar fight," she said matter of fact. He waited for Jesse to remove the hood of his coat and took a look at him.

He knew _what_ he was, more importantly, he knew _who_.

An injured clone soldier only meant one thing.

"You're running from the law?"

"No," she spoke clearly, all the time watching his reaction to Jesse, "as I said, my _husband_ was attacked during a bar fight last night and he requires urgent medical assistance."

"I could be arrested for not reporting you to authorities."

"You won't do that though will you?"

It was a stand off and Jesse finished it, shaking his head and pulling his coat back over his shoulders, he stumbled to his feet, shuffling his way back towards the exit.

The doctor sighed at the pathetic sight.

"Ok, Ok. Come here." Jesse turned around and collapsed into the doctor's arms.

"Whoa there," he said quickly as he helped him into the examination cubicle.

There, he removed the heavy coat and helped Jesse out of his shirt.

For a split second he forgot his manners and was at a loss for words.

The scars that lined the escaping soldier's torso defied his very existence.

"You've seen more action that a bar fight young man. Tell me, where do I begin?"

"He can't talk. Can't even swallow." Gem was surprised how shaky her own voice had become as the doctor began to gently examine the clones throat. Jesse winced and closed his eyes in pain as he pressed around the injured area.

"I don't have a bacta tank here, but I am sure that he has a broken hyoid and probably larynx. The area is too swollen for me to make a proper diagnosis. The prognosis is poor for his voice box either way. I can make him comfortable. Put him on intravenous fluids to hydrate him and a cocktail of antibiotics and steroids to reduce the swelling and risk of infection." He turned to the woman, "you can stay here, I will make sure no one disturbs you in this room. You have my word I will not report either of you to the Empire."

The Empire.

Democracy was well and truly dead.

She nodded and Jesse visibly relaxed on the gurney.

"Thank you," she said as she began to sway.

"Now," he said looking at her more closely, "what about you?"

.

"You acted quickly and eventually we would expect him to make a reasonable recovery."

"Reasonable?" Echo questioned.

"Well yes, he's fit man and we would expect, with extensive physical and occupational therapy that he may walk again unassisted. It will be a long road, for all of you."

Echo looked with dismay at the Rydarian doctor, then to Stoyan who was hocked up to an array of medical equipment. The left side of his body had been affected.

"Your father, I presume?" She continued to look at the monitors before turning to face him, "the family resemblance is quite remarkable."

Echo smiled and moved forward stroking Stoyan's forehead, feeling helpless he sat down heavily and wondered what had caused such a catostrophic stroke.

.

_Stoyan had felt the surge within the Force and had the sense to put Marek down before it became evident to him that this was like nothing he had ever experienced in the past. The pressure in his brain became unbearable as he held his head willing the pain to stop._

_But not this time. _

_The disturbance brought him to his knees before it physically maimed him for life. A massive subarachnoid haemorrhage, that left him immobile on the ground. Marek had raised the alarm and in doing so had saved his life. Without his 'adiik prudii' Stoyan would probably have died._

_The visions coupled with the voices too overwhelming for any Jedi to endure._

_It was another path his life had taken him on but this time knew he wouldn't be alone._

_._


	6. Chapter 6

**Five**

* * *

Coric woke the to the scarred face boring down at him.

"_Fek!_ You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Is it true?"

"Huh?"

"_Is-it-true?" _

"Is _what_ true?"

"That Rex is dead?"

_Finally_ someone brave enough to say the words.

"Yes, yes he is." Coric lifted himself up and sat propped against the wall.

"Well? What the_ fek_ happened?"

Chopper never did mince his words.

Coric sighed. He had mentally relived every step of the rush at the Temple during the night.

His mind not allowing him to switch off, even after a mild sedative.

He ran his hands over his eyes in an attempt to wake up and watched as Chopper sat at the end of his bunk, eager for the full report on what had happened to the revered captain of the 501st.

"I don't know where to start?"

"Oh for _feks _sake! You medics are all the same; _fekking_ drama queens. Just tell me what went down ok?"

"Ok," Coric replied, mildly pissed at Choppers demeaning manner.

"Skywalker killed him. In the Jedi Nursery. Rex was even holding a kid, _he -_ "

"Who's kid?"

"How the _fek_ should I know?" His voice rising, "what does it matter anyway? Skywalker just pierced him and Kix with the kid through the chest. The window cracked and they fell through. End of story."

The two stared off at each other, then Coric rubbed his eyes, wiping away the tears. Chopper could see the pain was still raw and Coric was disappointed in the way he had reacted.

"So Kix bought it?"

"Elek. Skywalker killed a woman as well, sliced her open with the glow stick."

"Which one?'

"Oh for the love of the stars Chop, _I don't know!"_

Chopper stared him down. He had always been intimidating, but he seemed even more earnest now. "Where's Jess?"

"He got him too," Coric whispered.

"_What?"_

"Jesse was thrown across the room in one of those Jedi throat holds. Slammed up against the wall dead."

"_Fek_." Coric saw it then, the flash of hurt, and as quickly as it was shown, it was gone.

"Yeah, _fek_."

Coric had checked the KIA list and the Coruscant Guard had been efficient in their recording of the numbers killed on the night of Order 66.

"We had no time to react."

Chopper then looked uncomfortable and went to leave.

"Hey, where were you anyway? We hear Kenobi got away."

"I didn't have a clear shot. No point wasting ammo," Chop didn't make eye contact.

"Yeah," Coric replied, a light bulb in his mind switching on, "no point wasting ammo."

.

"… _what we are witnessing is the total annihilation of the Jedi Council. For the past three hours, the centre of Coruscant has been in military lock down as soldiers from the 501__st__, the specialist troopers under the leadership of General Skywalker were given the all clear to execute an order from Chancellor Palpatine and stop the Jedi from taking control of the Senate. Warning, what we are about to transmit is a live feed from the Temple that some of our viewers may find disturbing."_

Fives watched, agog as he was transported back to the Temple on Coruscant.

To his previous life.

There he watched as troopers continued forward, carrying out the order to take the Temple at all costs. Bodies were strewn on the ground and anyone could see that there were children amongst the dead. Smoke obstructed his view as he scanned the markings on the troopers that had been killed during the surprise attack. Fives blew out a long breath and became agitated that the cameraman didn't have a clear view.

Then he saw the pattern on the armour and his blood ran cold.

"… _citizens are advised to stay in doors until the all clear has been given and to report any suspicious activity near their place of abode to the relevant authorities. For more now, we'll cross to our political correspondent Augie Wright. This is Elin Andersyn, HNN, Coruscant."_

Fives leaned forward and turned off the screen. Tash didn't say anything and waited. She knew he had recognised something and needed time to process the enormity of what they had just watched.

She waited until she thought the time was right.

"Fives, did you know those soldiers?"

"Yes." He wasn't about to divulge anymore and she noticed his cheeks turn bright red.

"Fives? What does it all mean?"

He turned and looked at her, "nothing. I'm _dead_ remember? I need some fresh air."

Fives took his walking cane and slowly left the room. Tash watched as he made his way outside and sit awkwardly at one of the chairs by the swimming pond.

_Here must I sit and stare_

_Withered and wrinkled;_

_Knowing the spaces there_

_With blood are sprinkled._

Up until five minutes ago the war had almost been forgotten.

Almost.

They had the ideal existence, almost the one they dared dream of.

She had a job in a mental health clinic in Longinnes on the other side of town. Fives would often come with her to work and spend the day walking through the picturesque gardens, reading and slightly dozing in the sun.

The rehabilitation had been lengthy and Fives was frustrated with his lack of physical strength. But that wasn't her speciality: Tash was wary of the effect his injuries were having on his mind.

_Why in the smoky sky_

_Missed I the sad truth?_

_Why did I not die_

_Young with the blood of youth?_

She would be wrong is saying that the accident hadn't aged him. His hair was now quite grey and his skin lined and he had visibly aged from the repercussions of chronic pain.

_Why did I not die_

_Hot in the heat of noon?_

Their relationship had changed also. Gone were the wild nights they used to spend together in the throws of passion. In its place was a new level of intimacy, one he had never allowed her to see before.

One of weakness but also of undeniable love.

She didn't care as long as they were together.

Sometimes he would be moody, and on those days she would steer clear, giving him the space to work through his disappointment.

_But what had he seen that made his heart rate rise and his face prickle with realisation?_

Tash would never know that he had recognised a symbol on a piece of armour.

A felled trooper. The mark on the chest plate a reminder from a previous battle.

One he had seen before.

On Umbara.

A lone stand maybe, or just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Fives' mind was whirring with the possibilities and ramifications of such a campaign on Coruscant. Difficult, being in a largely civilian population, dangerous launching an attack against the Jedi.

Even the peace keepers would fight for their lives if they had to.

Would Rex raise a blaster?

Not without questioning it's legitimacy surely?

But in amongst the images of the 501st moving through the Temple, Fives never saw his old captain. He recognised a few others from his old unit, but not the notorious Jaig eye's.

They weren't the ones walking behind the general.

No, the marking that had brought his previous life rushing back was a symbol of hope.

"Kix'" he whispered silently as he watched the sun set, casting an eerie glow over the tranquil water.

Today, he felt a little more alone in the Universe.

Today he lost a true friend.

_Here must I sleep and lie_

_Under the cool moon._

_Here must I die acage,_

_Pale in the light_

_Cold in my icy age,_

_Cold in the icy night.__[2]_

.

Reed went to all the medical centres in the area. Making an estimate of the time they left, coupled with the fact that they were injured and now in civilian clothing, he made a map of the most likely places and visited them in order.

The first four were dead ends and he became anxious at the thought of not finding them.

Reed had made a decision to leave with Skylar Gem and trooper designation CT-5597.

He had nothing and no one to go back to now the Empire had been formed and his relationship with Cariss was over.

He planned the escape.

They would head to the Outer Rim where he would get a job as a contractor on the massive plantations of Ilbeos; no one would question him as long as he did the work.

And work was something the clones could do.

There, she could finally mourn the death of her husband and daughter.

Jesse could heal and they would become a, _a new_ family of sorts.

Yes, all he had to do was find them.

The last surgery was the furthest from his apartment, and the last place he calculated they would have made it to. He walked into the medical centre and waited patiently for the nurse to look up from her data pad.

"Can I help you?" she asked, taking in his armour.

"I am looking for two people, one male and one female. The male looks approximately like me but is unable to talk. The woman, about the same _height has brown -_ "

As Reed continued to describe his two friends, the doctor listened behind the door to the room that had both Jesse and Gem hidden. They were both sedated and sleeping and the doctor, true to his word, never did disclose their location.

"I'm sorry sir," he said as he closed the door quietly behind him, "we have had no one of that description in here today. I'll be sure to contact the relevant people if they happen to come in," he smiled all the time, making a believable argument to the pilot.

"That's not necessary," Reed said handing him his card, "just contact this number and I will personally collect them."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to contact you, if, as I said, they turn up here. Good day to you sir."

Reed left and headed back to the barracks to await news from any of the medical suites he attended that morning, his initial optimism beginning to wane.

It was 2100 when he was recalled back to Coruscant.

Apparently Cariss hadn't taken his decision to end their relationship well, and had taken it upon herself to contact the Coruscant Guard, reporting what she had seen in _another_ apartment the night before.

.

Reed lifted off Corellia for the last time and fed in the co-ordinates to Coruscant. Sitting back he let the craft do the work when an incoming message came through the comm.

"Lieutenant Reed this is Commander Fox."

"Copy that Commander." Reed immediately straightened in his seat; he wasn't expecting to hear anything from Fox considering the events of the past 24 hours.

"Reed, I'm just letting you know, _unofficially_, that you will be receiving a _personal escort_ into Corsucant once you hit Empire air space. Do-you-understand lieutenant?"

The lieutenant got the message loud and clear.

"They're gone."

Fox's voice softened slightly, "now you have to be also."

"Understood Sir."

There was a moment's silence. There were so much both wanted to ask, _to say,_ but there was no time. The communiqué could have already been corrupted and intercepted.

"Good luck lieutenant."

"Copy that Commander."

Reed quickly went to the ships emergency beacon and pulled a wire from their housing, rendering the signal dead. The Empire would not be able to trace his flight path as he re set the navi computer for the planet in to the outer rim that Mav used to bore him senseless about.

"… _the trees Reed! They have these amazing trees you have to climb and cut down. Harness work. We'd be good at that. And look! Look at all that blue sky," his eyes glistened with excitement as Reed smiled from the co-pilots seat, "and not a cloud to be seen..."_

...

[2] Songs of a campaign, Leon Gellert 1918


	7. Chapter 7

**Six**

* * *

_The first thing I remember hearing was her laugh._

_I was always aware of the blurred images moving around me, but in all honesty, I didn't care. _

_Her infectious giggle would come and go in time with the darkness. _

_I, I can't comprehend whether I am sleeping or dreaming. Thinking, is just too fekking hard._

_One minute I'm back in the apartment I shared with her on Coruscant, then wham - I'm on a larty, bumping around and heading, I don't even know where. _

_The crew are all around me; Hardcase with the rotary to the right, Kix and Jesse behind, but I think they're all gone; it just doesn't make any sense! _

_Then the general is dishing out orders before he turns and looks at me, his eyes all aglow. I know then he's Sith and I try to scream out to the others but no one's listening. _

_No one seems to care! I look in my arms and I see Piia. She's there in the larty for feks sake! _

_I'm sad and angry at the same time._

_No one stood up and asked the question._

_Why?_

_Then I am being moved, and a familiar voice is constantly guiding me all the time gently urging me not to give up, to try, to wake, but I can't._

_I don't want to._

_Maybe I'm afraid?_

_The truth, I know is going to be harder than any battle I fought._

_But she keeps talking to me; the whole time, she never stopped._

_Silly stories about my past._

_Our past._

_"Hey big guy, remember that time on Teth when we thought we were all gonners? We managed to fight out way out that one didn't we? And what about those commando's that needed their shebs rescuing, Ion wasn't it? Yeah, that's right, Ion. Climber owes you one remember. You have to wake up Rexie, you just have to wake up." _

_I want to laugh and answer her but I can barely make a mumble let alone something that makes any sense._

_Where was I anyway and why do I have this dull ache under my rib that just won't go away? I would rather the sharp pain from a decent injury than this slow, relentless one that tires me out__._

_Then I remember, and I don't want to wake up._

_But then that laughter again; I'm pulled, pulled between the memory of the past and my uncertain future._

_Without her._

_I move slightly, more to reposition myself to quell the nagging pain, but I have no energy and I give in to the exhaustion and the next round of nightmares._

_I don't even know how long I have been here. Day and night mean nothing to me._

_More laughter._

_How I want to see her. I ache to see her so I bring myself back; forward to the present._

_It was like waking from a dream within a dream._

_Every layer brought a fresh memory with it and each one was a little harder to push through._

_As I become more and more conscious I gasp as I peel away the final layer and my eyes spring open in fright._

_I look around and see her beautiful, familiar face staring down at me, smiling and welcoming._

_It had happened._

_ It wasn't some bad dream._

_My wife was murdered and I was perilously injured._

_Piia._

_My left hand begins to tremble._

_But Piia was saved. Sitting in her arms and laughing, innocent of everything._

_Her cherubic face didn't know such hate._

_But I did._

_I strained to refocus my eyes and moved my hand down to my hip, where my blaster should have been._

"_Get away from her you witch!" I hiss as I attempt to lift myself off the bed._

"_Well, well. Looky here," her painted, malformed face unmistakable. "Daddy's finally awake."_

…


	8. Chapter 8

**Seven**

* * *

It was all over the holonet.

Three weeks after the event, and vision of Coruscant burning was still making headlines. Now interviews between broadcasters and influential Coruscanti businessmen discussing the betrayal by the Jedi was on almost every station. Echo had taken to leaving the screen off, tired of watching the images of blue marching through the Temple.

They weren't his brothers.

_Not any more._

Stoyan was finally home from hospital.

The stroke had been severe. The staff neurologist together with the intensive care specialist had decided that immersion in bacta may aid the recovery from the haemorrhage.

That had been the toughest time for the former soldier.

Echo had excused himself from the ICU ward and as soon as he was a respectable distance, dry wretched into a corner – the smell, coupled with the sight of the luminescent blue liquid brought back too many memories.

_Bad memories._

Freya then took over the daily visits until Stoyan was back on the ward.

The healing wasn't complete; bacta could only manage a certain level of cellular regeneration. But seventeen days later he was discharged to her care, with a succession of support specialists to continue his rehabilitation at home. Echo had made himself busy replacing stairs with ramps to accommodate the repulsor chair and installing handrails in and around the house.

It was the one thing he could do.

Stoyan wasn't concerned in the slightest. He knew he would walk again.

He may have been damaged from the gift that had cursed him his entire life, but he also knew he could tap into that power source and rebuild it, one day at a time. He had defied the doctors already by surviving and his previous training at the hands of the Jedi meant he knew the virtue of patience; he would wait and his former life would return.

"How you doing today _buir_?" Echo asked as he entered his room and lifted the blinds. He would always start his day there, bearing two cups of _caf. _He would silently steel himself before he entered the room however, the sight of his father like this always affected him. Stoyan of course could sense him behind the door, his trepidation at entering was something that burdened his heart.

Echo had to learn patience also.

It was a good lesson for them both.

Stoyan had been awake long before Echo, he had taken to watching the programmes streaming from Coruscant. He would shake his head and listen to the reporters and so called experts wax lyrical about the Jedi uprising and the gratitude to the Chancellor for acting quickly and saving the Universe from the dreaded religions mind trickery.

But not Stoyan.

He wasn't fooled, neither would any surviving Jedi. He knew _exactly_ who was leading the Empire.

_Why couldn't anyone else see it?_

Echo pulled the bed covers back slightly and moved the plastimug of warm _caf _forward, holding the drinking straw up for him to take. He was genuinely confused; this was the only time that he could recollect of Stoyan showing _any _interest in Jedi business.

"What are you watching that _osik_ for anyway _buir?_"

The distorted image of the Emperor spewing diatribe had consumed all Stoyan's thoughts.

" '_ith,"_ Stoyan slurred as he looked at Echo.

"What's that _buir?"_

He seemed frustrated that Echo showed little or no interest in current events, especially ones involving his brothers back on Coruscant.

_If only he knew._

He moved his arm up to hit Echo on his shoulder.

"_-ITH!_ Ook E-ho, ook!"

Echo could see that Stoyan was trying hard to tell him something and he reluctantly turned to face the screen.

"Sith? You think he's _Sith_, is that what your saying?" Then he saw it. The crumpled malformed face of his former commander and chief as the new self proclaimed Emperor.

Stoyan flopped back against his pillows, "-_es_."

Echo sighed heavily as he sat down and increased the volume. Up until now he had avoided watching the broadcasts on Coruscant. He considered himself no longer part of the Republic or part of the army that had marched on the Temple or turned on their generals in the field. The Republic had abandoned him on the hanger deck of The Citadel. He was done long ago.

Stoyan could feel his reticence at watching through the Force and looked at him, giving him time to make a comment.

Echo swung his head in disdain, "_fek_," was all he could muster and knew he had some explaining to do.

"Order 66 was part of a special contingency of orders that covered emergency situations. It meant that any _clone_ was prepared to execute, without question. No one ever spoke of it; we - _I_ never thought it would be used, especially against the Jedi. If what you are saying about Palpatine being Sith is true, then, well, then we've all been used."

They both sat in silence and continued to watch the replayed vision from the Temple. Echo recognised armour markings; Appo, Coric, Vill amongst others. It was weird, watching his old unit perform their duty, however heinous it was. He felt lost, torn. However the only thing offering any solace was the simple fact that he never saw Rex or Fives.

Echo had matured and grown a conscious. Gone was the quintessential soldier that could recite any part of the GAR manual verbatim to one who was now questioning his very existence. Talking and philosophising with Stoyan had helped him work through the disappointment of his abandonment by the Republic. Not seeing Rex or Fives on any of the footage meant one of two things.

They couldn't carry out such an atrocity. Or they were dead. Either way, to a professional soldier, defying an order of such magnitude meant a court martial at the very least, or a one way ticket back to Kamino at the worst.

" – ou iss it?"

"No. No I don't miss it. I miss the people, _my brothers_. But not this," he turned to look at the screen, "this isn't what we were trained for." He slapped Stoyan on the leg gently, "I'm the lucky one. I have you and Freya and a second chance at a life that I was never allowed to dream, let alone live. No. I'm resolved _buir_."

Stoyan switched off the channel before they both swung around quickly as the door was thrust open and Marek bound in squealing with delight at the start of another new day.

Echo stood and lifted him up onto the bed and watched as Stoyan and his little shadow giggled on the covers together. He smiled when he heard her call.

"Echo? Echo! I need you here. _Now!"_

"That sounds like trouble," he laughed. "You right here?" Stoyan flicked his head for Echo to leave. He and Marek had lots to talk about. There had been an energy shift in the house and Stoyan knew this day would be one they would come to celebrate for a long time to come.

"_ECHO!" _

.

"When are you going to talk to me Fives? Fives!"

He looked up from his _caf_, "_I am_ talking to you Tash. I have told you that I am _not _cold and that I _will_ come to bed in a minute," he replied sarcastically.

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

Fives ignored her comment and continued to stare at his cup. Tash was increasingly worried about his behaviour following the events on Coruscant. He had become even more taciturn and moody, _almost_ the man she had treated at the GAR hospital a lifetime ago. Brash, brilliant, but still struggling with his emotions. He was a far cry from the strapping young man that had initially fought her every step of the way in her assessment and therapy but one that eventually she cracked and fell in love with. She was trained to spot the signs and knew this was a turning point in their relationship.

"Fives," she tried a new approach, "come to bed," she said rubbing the back of his neck. He shrugged her off but she persisted. "Come on," she cajoled, _"please?"_

It was the one part of his life he missed as much as the army.

The physicality of their relationship had changed and their love making was not always, _successful_.

He smiled at her beauty, and wrapped an arm around her hips, pulling her into him. There he buried his head into her abdomen and she cradled him running her hands through his hair.

"I want to Tash, but I just," he stopped. "I just need to _be_. You understand?" She looked down at his face and could see the emotion written all over it.

"What I understand is that you have to rise above this slump Fives. You've worked so hard to get to here, both mentally and physically. Whatever is happening on Coruscant is way beyond anything that can affect us here." He knew what she was saying was right.

But unlike Tash, he _hadn't_ made the decision to leave. He had been given a glimpse of what was going to happen on Coruscant after his meeting with the then Chancellor Palpatine. But instead, he had been hunted down as a traitor and left for dead, and would have been if not for the quick thinking of Dr Boll and the ingenuity of Lieutenant Reed.

"No one believed me Tash," he said quietly. "No one listened when I said this was coming, that they were all in danger, and now," he shook his head, "now look what's happened. I don't give a _fek_ about the Jedi. Half of them never knew one end of a battlefield from the other, but _the men_, they were _good men_ and look what they made them do?"

There was no amount of psychology training that could make her rationalise what he was saying, so she didn't even try.

"C'mon, come to bed. I'll make it worth your while," she said with just the right amount of seduction he couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright then," he said as he let her go and stood gingerly from the table, "but only if you get on top."

"I'm always on top you lazy _shab'uir!"_

"That's only because I like watching you bouncing around up there."

They always did have a unique relationship.

.


	9. Chapter 9

**Eight**

* * *

"Arrrgghhh!"

"Rex, wait. No! Stop, just stop!"

Ahsoka moved forward fast, placing her weight on top of him in an attempt to stop Rex from moving off the bed and injuring himself further.

"Get off me," he demanded.

"Just wait a picosec will you?" Ahsoka was annoyed as he continued to fight her.

Ventress just watched, a wry smile crossed her coloured lips as she held the young ward tight in her arms.

The noise and commotion had upset Piia and she began wailing, confusing Rex further. His eyes transfixed on the Darthomir witch holding the only thing remaining in his world.

Ahsoka was sent spiralling across the room; even injured, Rex still had enough strength to overcome her slight weight.

But the sudden movement coupled with the physical exertion sent his pain threshold through the roof and stopped him from continuing.

"_Arrh fek!"_ He momentarily closed his eyes as he willed the pain back where it belonged.

"Rex, wait", Ahsoka said more quietly, wiping the blood from her split lip, "she's here at _my request_. Please, just let me explain."

Rex stopped and looked at her. Nothing made any sense.

Where was he? Why was Ahsoka here? And more importantly, what was the dark acolyte doing holding his daughter?

"Commander?" He shook his head again, trying to clear the fog that surrounded him.

Rex attempted to sit up before the room began to swim, leaning over to the side he hurled the contents of his stomach onto the floor before he lost consciousness again.

.

"Well, that certainly went well," Ventress drawled as she continued to hold the now subdued infant.

"Not now Ventress," Ahsoka replied as she struggled to lift the bulk of the man back up on the bed.

"There's no need to get all snitchy then! OH? Wait. _Now–I-see?_" Ahsoka watched as a knowing smile curled her lips.

"Don't go there."

Ventress looked at her incredulously, "what? Oh come on Ahsoka! Really?"

"Don't say it," she warned as she flopped back against the wall exhausted.

"I don't need to say it, _I can feel it_. My my," she laughed, "Yoda must have had field day with you?"

"He never knew OK."

"You hid it well little one," Ventress commented as she moved over to look at the sleeping captain. "You have good taste, I give you that. This clone in particular was always _intriguing_ to say the least. Even more so now," she said as she looked at the baby in her arms. "I wonder what Skywalker would have thought knowing his captain was off shagging – "

"Enough!"

"Leading by example I guess, Mmm? I thought clones weren't allowed to form relationships let alone have children? Who or more importantly, _where_, is the mother?"

"She's dead." Ahsoka said solemnly.

"That's certainly convenient."

"Ventress, by the core!"

"Oh alright, alright. As if it matters anyway. You've got your captain back and now you can finally play happy families. End of story right?"

"If only it were that easy," Ahsoka breathed looking at Rex.

_If only it were that easy._

_._

Ahsoka had changed mentally since deciding to leave the Jedi. The trial at the hands of her old Religious Order had shaken her to the core.

She had changed physically as well. She had finally passed adolescence and gone were the immature lekku and in their place were the more elongated head tails with distinctive blue stripes. Her montrals had grown, and with them came her increased empathy with her surrounding environment. She had grown in height and her once round face had disappeared also. Gone was _little 'Soka_ and in it's place was a more defined and balanced Togrutan warrior.

Thanks in part, to Ventress.

Ahsoka had decided to stay on Coruscant and search out the one person who had helped her throughout the messy trial. Spurned on by a Jedi saying that a _'wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends[2]'_ she continued on until she found Ventress on the less than salubrious level 21. Held up in a shanty, she had become a recluse, and had taken to hiding her face along with her weapons for fear of discovery. But Ahsoka had tracked her down, as a friendship of sorts had been forged. Together they coexisted, helping those who were down on their luck and presenting the outlaws to authorities anonymously.

It was a perfect symbiotic relationship. Leaving Coruscant had never occurred to either of them, which in hindsight, had been a pilotable decision for Rex.

Ahsoka may have left the Order, but the Jedi religion hadn't left her. Jocasta Nu had allowed the young Togrutan on the odd occasion to enter the ancient Library and research other Jedi Padawan's and Knights that had also left the Order. She was hoping that by letting Ahsoka in, she would change her mind and return to her calling.

"All those years of training and discipline Ahsoka, can't be for nothing?'

"I understand Master Nu. But it seems that I am not the first, or the last Jedi to question their faith."

"Questioning your faith is something that can be seen as a test of strength and dedication to the greater good."

Ahsoka understood what Jocasta was saying, it's just the Order that she once so revered had let her down.

She knew this was _her test_.

But Ahsoka was tired of having to constantly prove herself; initially on a battlefield and now to the Jedi faithful. No, she was done, ready to move on with her life just after she looked up some more information on one Jedi in particular.

"_Blah, blah, blah_. No wonder you left. All they do is talk. Give me a decent battle any day." Ahsoka smiled as she placed the enormous Jedi Annual in front of a heavily cloaked Ventress.

"You don't have to come in here you know."

"What, and miss out on all this scintillating conversation?"

Ahsoka laughed at her sarcasm and began pouring through the years, diligently scanning each page until she found what she was looking for.

"Gotcha," she said satisfied.

"You feel that?"

She had, at exactly the same time Ventress made the comment. There had been a definite shift in the Force that had raised both their shackles and had them on high alert.

"Come on, lets get out of here?"

"I can't Ventress. I can't just leave them!"

"They thought nothing of doing that to you. Fine, you stay here and die. You can feel it, this is Sith! None of us combined have the power to take this on. I'm going."

Ahsoka turned to watch Ventress disappeared back into the ventilation system before she realised what she had said was right. This was too big a threat for any of them and she quickly scurried in behind the Darthomir witch.

The older woman could sense Ahsoka's inner conflict. "You'll get your chance young Jedi. Just not today."

"I know Ventress, I know."

.

They crawled through the hidden ducted system, listening to and sometimes catching glimpses of the rampage at the hand of her old Master. Before moving from one tunnel to another Ahsoka and Ventress looked up to see a shower of ancient glass explode and in amongst it a familiar set of armour as it came cascading down towards them. Thinking quickly the pair caught the soldier in a Force pull and guided him safely to the ground before dragging him and his daughter to safety back through the ventilation system.

By this time the soldiers had moved on from the Nursery and would be making their way back down to the main exit. They had to keep moving if they were to go undetected.

Ventress clutched Piia in her arms, and to her credit, covered the child and moved with such speed Ahsoka knew why she had been a formidable foe throughout the Clone Wars. But the time for adulation would be later, for now, they just needed to disappear again, back to the bowels of Corsucant and their makeshift home.

It had been a long five days until Rex stirred. Ahsoka had used some of the credits Gem had given her to buy bacta along with illegal Morpha on the black market. She had carefully removed his armour and body suit, taking the time to deposit it thoughtfully in dumpsters around the lower levels of Coruscant. Ventress watched and waited for her to begin the healing process. Ahsoka wished at that point she had of listened to Obi-Wan and her old Master more and learnt to hone her healing skills, it was something that never came naturally to her.

"Here, take this squealing piglet and move aside," Ventress stated matter of fact. Ahsoka smiled; no matter how hard she tried, she always found good in the former agent of Dooku.

It didn't matter now anyway.

Ventress focussed her mind and became quiet, tapping into the raw source she was born with. Like Ahsoka, she was not gifted at healing, but something, at this stage, was better than nothing.

Rex had a deep quarterised injury that penetrated his right side under his ribcage. With no medical imaging available there was no way to accurately ascertain the extent of the damage. But the one thing they both knew, was that his injuries were caused by a light sabre.

So there they sat, watching and waiting for Rex to open his eyes.

"Tell me about Master Narec," Ahsoka asked.

Ventress continued to look into the flames on the hearth. "Like you he was expelled from the Jedi Order."

"And?"

"And, he looked after me. Taught me how to use the Force. I was his Padawan, but as he was no longer part of Yoda's almighty Order I was never recognised and chose my own path."

"You chose the dark side?"

"No. The dark side chose me."

.

"_Shhh_ Rex, easy, that's it." Ahsoka was holding the baby when his eyes began to flutter open. This time, she had administered a small dose of Morpha to keep him semi sedated so he wouldn't wake as agitated.

She also asked Ventress to politely leave the hut.

Rex slowly opened his eyes and focussed on Ahsoka.

He cleared his throat and continued to hold her gaze.

She knew _that look_; she knew he was asking her to help put the missing pieces together.

How she had missed those eyes and his strong presence. After leaving Ahsoka had finally acknowledged and given in to the memory of lying in his arms as she had done years earlier. Those dreams had got her through the most darkest of times. Maybe that's why she stayed on Coruscant? Maybe she couldn't leave him even if he did belong to someone else.

"Rex, you are still on Coruscant. Level 21."

That raised an eyebrow before he cleared his throat.

"It did happen then Commander?"

"Yes. And it's just Ahsoka these days Rex."

She continued to stare at him while Piia slept. "Here, Piia has missed you?"

Rex looked at his daughter and his face crumpled. The emotion was to much as she gently placed the sleeping babe against his bare chest. With a trembling lip and tears filling his eyes, he drew on all his training to attempt to hide his feelings.

"Sitrep Ahsoka."

"The Republic has been dissolved and Chancellor Palpatine is the new self proclaimed Emperor. You are officially MIA. Anakin, went on a rampage at the Temple, and well, can you remember what happened Rex?"

He quickly nodded his head before it all came tumbling down and buried his face into the pink blanket.

It was the first time she had ever seen Rex broken.

"Rex, I'm sorry about Gemma, I really am." His crying stopped at the sound of her name and he sniffed back the tears and sat back looking at the now awake child.

"Kix?"

"I don't know Rex."

He cleared his voice again and asked, "my armour?"

"I have had to discreetly lose some of it?"

His head turned around wildly, the anger written all over his face, "my gauntlets?"

"I'm sorry," she answered timidly, she knew what she had done was akin to sacrilege, but they simply couldn't be found with any Republic armour, no matter how small or sentimental. She had kept the blasters, they were the two items she knew he couldn't live without.

Rex held his daughter and openly cried for the life he had lost and the new one he didn't want.

Ahsoka sat next to him in silence.

Her heart ached for his realisation, his pain. A pain he had never experienced before. The universal phrases ran through her head; _I'm sorry for your loss, I'm here if you need anything_. But in reality there was nothing she could say to heal _this pain_, no amount of bacta and drugs could take it away or dull its effect.

She truly was sorry.

Sorry he had to feel like this and sorry he had no brother he could share the burden with.

Rex had seen death like every other soldier on the battlefield.

But now he had just experienced the worst kind. The kind that leaves you thinking '_what the fek just happened?_'

What Ahsoka was witnessing was true heartbreak. His whole being was shattered. How could this man sitting in front of her, looking to her for some sort of explanation understand, accept and continue on?

A part of Rex was gone, she could see it. He had been strong when others needed his support, but who was there now for him? Ahsoka looked at Piia, holding her hand out to stroke her soft skin.

Then it hit her.

Piia would never know her mother's courage and love. All she would have would be stories of her beauty and strength. How she fought hard to keep the baby and her relationship with Rex separate from her life as a politician under the scrutinizing eye of the Republic Hierarchy. All she has is just stories to remind her of where she came from. So as Ahsoka held the two of them in her capable arms she took a deep breath and began.

"I am here for you Rex. And Piia. No matter how long it takes, I will always be here. I'll be here tomorrow, in a year, in ten years. For as long as it takes and as long as you need me."

Rex gave in to the fitful sobbing he never allowed himself the indulgence of and wept openly.

Behind the door, Ventress listened and closed her cynical eyes. Listening to Ahsoka comforting the captain had affected her, making her remember a time when she wasn't so hard and acerbic. A single tear made it's way down her tattooed cheek before she wiped it away with her hand.

"Oh for the love of the Force! What's happening to me?"

.

[2]― Baltasar Gracián, _The Art of Worldly Wisdom_


	10. Chapter 10

**Nine**

* * *

Gem didn't care how long they had stayed at the doctor's surgery.

Time to her was of no consequence.

Jesse was making a slow recovery, and the ever present threat of infection had been averted. Her own wound had been debrided and surgically dressed. Both were on light sedation to help with pain management; she was now officially as dull on the outside as she was on the in.

"I have a transport for you both heading out of Corellia tonight."

Silent stares crossed the room. The unmitigated threat rose it's ugly head once again.

Jesse felt the familiar rise of his heart rate. He knew what it meant, he had just been given new orders. All he had to do was consider it another mission on top of the hundreds he had received in the past.

Only this time, there was no brother covering his back.

This time he was all alone _and_ a civilian was involved.

What he didn't know was that both of them were only in it for each other.

There had been a time during the past three days when Jess had contemplated a bottle of Morpha on the bench. He went through it in his mind. He knew what to do, _fek_ he's seen Kix do it often enough and he had helped the medic pump it into a brothers arm more times than he care remember.

He also knew how much to take to get him over the line.

First his body would go numb followed by the heavy weight of his limbs. His heart rate would be all over the place, and that was when the panic would set in as his body would fight to stay awake when in reality, all it wants to do is shut down.

If he could then push past the guilt and just close his eyes and give in, it could all be over, in less than three minutes.

The line was already in, all he had to do was top it up.

But then he looked over at her. The forlorn white face with the permanent dark circles etched under her eyes. Gem was now a wasted figure from not only the physical pain, but also from the mental anguish that lay just below the surface.

Her lithe torso, along with her endearing heart had been scarred for life.

No; he had to keep going if not for her, but for the captain.

The cap would expect no less from one of his men.

So Jesse stopped looking at the little glass bottle on the durosteel bench and closed his eyes.

He mentally allowed himself another minute before he would rise and dress.

CT-5497 had a new objective: to save the Honourable People's Representative from Oriis.

At all costs.

.

Gem on the other hand felt nothing when the doctor came into their room and mentioned the ride. He had selflessly organised them a transport off and away from the prying eyes of the Corellian people. They both knew there was a bounty on any AWOL soldiers heads, and Jesse had just become an expensive man.

They watched in horror as Lord Vader stood beside the Emperor and listened to the broadcast, describing the new unit that had been formed for such a task.

**Vaders First**, Jesse had tapped on his datapad. It was a crude method of communication, but until he could talk again, it was blessed relief to finally be heard.

Gem raised herself from the bed and began to collect their small amount of clothing. She had made sure to take some of the finer pieces that Cariss had left out in the laundry, knowing full well how angry _any_ woman would have been at having them stolen. A fleeting smirk of satisfaction crossed her mouth. Little did she know that it had spurred the scorned woman into reporting their presence at a cost to her lieutenant.

She would never know of the betrayal against Reed.

The doctor sounded optimistic that Jesse would talk again, but not without the implantation of a new voice annunciator.

At some point she would make sure he got one.

Gem always had a unique, _unspoken_ relationship with the tattooed man. She looked at him as he gingerly began to dress. He had already begun loosing muscle mass. A diet of high protein shakes was not going to keep up with his insatiable metabolism. She inadvertently smiled as she remembered the night he had taken her to get _that_ tattoo, their friendship sealed with a drunken trip to a seedy artist back on Coruscant. Then the time she sprung him with Vail leaving a supply closet together in the Senate building. She continued to stare at him, lost in a not so distant memory. Then she _remembered_how Rex would laugh, reciting stories about his antics alongside Hardcase.

_'Stop!'_

She remembered…

_'Please?'_

She would be resting her head on his chest, laughing and listening to his voice reverberate through her ear.

Just a snippet, an innocent mind trick.

_'Rex.'_

With his memory came another.

It was like a bolt to the chest.

'_No. Not now. I'm sorry.'_

It was too late of course.

That sudden weight of grief that only appeared when she _forgot_.

It would leak out, insidious and invisible, enveloping her entirely, gripping at her soul and twisting it amongst it's malicious tentacles.

She had to maintain control. Remain strong.

She couldn't breathe, the pressure all consuming and she swayed as she tried to stay upright and hold it together.

For Jesse.

He had seen it, as fleeting as it came she had regained her strength and composed herself, tucking the torture back down deep into a pocket where she could keep it from ever seeing the light of another day.

Buried, along with all the happy memories she and Rex had made for themselves with Piia.

And that's what hurt the most; the denial of something so beautiful, a simple love that knew no bounds.

Jesse reached for his datapad and quickly tapped out a message holding it forward for her to read.

_**You 'right?**_

"Yes, let's get you fully dressed."

Jesse was annoyed that she was ignoring her feelings. He had seen it often enough after a brother had died. He was guilty of it as well, deflecting the conversation, circling around the bantha in the room.

Death, grief, sorrow.

He tapped away again, shaking his head and tapping on the screen with urgency.

_**Gem, talk to me!**_

Her expression went blank. She knew he was on to her but she was determined not to open that pocket again, not until she had him clear of Corellia and safe from the Empire.

"Stand down trooper."

Her voice was devoid of any emotion. He had been given an order and stepped back over the invisible line that he had inadvertently crossed.

Jesse nodded his head and placed the datapad down on the bed, reaching for a scarf to wind around his neck and cover the black bruising.

They would not speak of it again, not for sometime.

They may have made it out of the Jedi Temple alive but a new menace was hovering, in black, like their collective grief who was determined to finish what had been started. The Clone Wars may have ended, but they now had a more bitter battle to fight, the one for freedom.

Unbeknownst to either of them, their resolve would be tested again.

The worst was yet to come...

...


	11. Chapter 11

**Ten**

* * *

Gem looked at their quarters on board the Bounty. It was a small room with only one rack. She promptly put her bag down and began unpacking the medicine for Jesse – the antibiotics had to be continued for another seven standard days to finish the course.

She began to lay out the equipment to attach to the line in his arm and fumbled.

"Fek!" The powder in the bottle toppled over as she tried to add the distilled water. Jesse moved forward fast and grabbed the bottle. He nodded and moved her aside as he filled the bottle up and began to agitate the mixture, waiting for the cloudy liquid to become clear.

He then sat heavily on the bed and handed her the bottle. Gem filled the syringe and injected it into the line, all the time watching his arm.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked at him.

Jesse grabbed the data pad with the other as she continued to administer the antibiotics. Tapping away quickly he turned it to her.

**You're angry?**

"No, just tired."

**No lies. Truth.**

He had seen right through her and at that moment she let it go just slightly.

"Because of me, you're in this position."

**No. my choice. My doing.**

Gem smiled and placed her hand up to his cheek, "the trip here has tired you. You take first rest while I find the galley and some food."

**Be careful.**

"I will. You have your blaster?"

Jesse lifted up his tunic to show the end of his DC-17; the one from Commander Fox's kit.

"I won't be long."

Jesse watched as she left the room and settled back down into the cot. She had changed since leaving the doctor's surgery. Gemma had adopted an air of authority and he felt a pang of disappointment that it was her taking charge instead of him. A barrier had gone up. Jesse sighed and unravelled the scarf. As soon as he had a rest, he would put things right.

.

"Do you think_ that_ could be it?"

"I dunno, it's just weird, that's all I'm saying. No one has said anything about what happened, unless they're too frightened to talk about it? I can't figure it out, the vaccine is the _only thing_ I can think of that could be the reason they're acting so differently. We didn't have it_." _Coric looked confused_, "t_here's something up with Chopper."

"Can you trust him?"

"I think so. What you need to do is find out about Sats."

"Yeah, I figured that."

Coric looked at the younger medic and sat down next to him. "You ok with all this?"

"Ok? Fek, no," he nervously laughed. "Didge's fingers are going to break off, I haven't seen him this anxious since the third trials on Kamino."

Coric laughed as well, "they were always the worst."

"You're telling me? We nearly lost him on that one. The _di'kut_ almost severed his hand on the wire when he got caught dropping down a line." There was a seconds silence as they both mentally stepped back on their home planet, remembering a time when things weren't so complicated.

"I miss Kix and Jesse." It came from nowhere and Coric surprised even himself.

"I'm sorry about what happened to them. I learned a lot from Kix."

"What, and not me?"

_"You know what I mean?"_

Coric certainly did.

Even though he was the higher ranked medic, Kix had an innate way with the wounded. Nothing was too much trouble, every man was equal no matter his rank.

"You know, he's the only medic that ever stood up to the captain?"

"Is that right?"

"Yep," Coric smiled as he remembered that particular encounter in the larty, "he gave Rex a right serve over relocating his shoulder against a bulkhead."

"The captain did that on his own?"

"No, Hardcase slammed him up into it on his order. Kix wouldn't let it go and harked on about it the entire trip back." Coric looked over at Whisk and suddenly his eyes filled.

"_Fek,_ they were _good men_."

"Good brothers."

"The best. Come on, I need some _caf_."

"What are we gonna do lieutenant?"

"I really don't know," he said as he slapped his colleagues shoulder, "but we'll figure it out, as long as we stick together right?"

It wasn't what the younger soldier wanted to hear, but Coric was one of the captain's original squad, "copy that."

.

"You should have seen him. Sitting of that _fekking_ dragon mount when the order was given. We were on full automatic. Pumping rounds at both him and the varactyl until he just disappeared." Sats stopped to take a loud swig of his _caf._ "_Vode_, was the Commander pissed or what? He just given him back the glow stick, can you believe it? We would've _had him_ otherwise." Didge sat in astonishment as Sats continued. "Commanders up for a gong though, Grievous was worth it if nothing else. _Fek_, would have loved to be in on the convo in the head shed after that one. Then they just threw smoke and brought us back here to TZ."

Didge swallowed hard and looked over at Whisk. Sats had come back in the second wave of 212th from Upatau. The sniper had been relieved beyond compare to see his vattie arrive back in the barracks with his dented armour and lost tooth.

"Hear you guys were in the Temple, lucky bastards."

"Yeah, real lucky," Chopper cut in. He hadn't said much, not that he ever did.

Coric had kept a keen eye on him. He was unusually sullen and the medic knew there was something different about him compared to others under Cody's command.

Whisk could see it too. Didge may have been happy to have Sats back, but like the others they followed down the halls of the Jedi Temple that night, Sats showed no remorse towards the men they had fought alongside over the past three years.

Sats dropped his tone and grinned, "have you heard the gos? Apparently Ion's gone rogue. Climber and his men are off the grid. But not for long hey?" He shoved Didge's arm intentionally.

"What do you mean?" Didge took the bait.

"Well, isn't that what you guys are being reassigned for? Vader's First? Out to find any a-wol clones and left over Jedi?"

It was the first time any one had verbalised it.

The 501st were on cool down until their new orders were given. Rumours were rife, that they would become the elite squad under Darth Vader employed to sweep up any mess that had managed to escape that fateful night. There was no denying the tension sitting at that table, but only Chopper, Coric, Didge and Whisk were feeling it. Didge was the one most upset, he hands raw from constantly working them together. He wouldn't have it that Sat's had changed but Whisk was more phlegmatic, resigned to the fact that things had, including Sats along with most of the 501st they served alongside.

Chopper placed his plastimug down and quietly got up from the table. Coric waited a minute and excused himself, determined to get some answers.

He kept a respectable distance behind Chop, and made his move as he rounded a quieter corridor, pulling him inside a doorway.

"What the _fek_!" Chopper was angry at the intrusion; the scarred clone knew Coric was there to ask questions, just ones he wasn't prepared to answer.

"Chopper, I am only-going-to-ask-you-this-once." Coric spoke slowly so that he wouldn't have to repeat it, "are you in agreement with what went down that night?"

"No."

Coric physically slumped in relief. He knew there was something different about Chopper and his thoughts had been justified.

They stood there in the shadows eyeing one another off, both still apprehensive about telling each other what they did, or didn't know about the night the Empire was formed.

"Look Chop. You can talk to me, _you can trust me_."

"How do I know that _huh_? How do any of us know who we can or can't trust. You're part of Vader's _fekking_ First for _feks_ sake!"

"Chopper, I stood there and watched as Rex, Jesse and Kix were slain and _did nothing!_ I can barely _look at myself_ in the mirror each morning, _fek!_"

Chopper relaxed at the medics admission, he could then see the torment on Coric's face, knowing at that moment, the 212th got off lightly on Upatau.

"Look one more question, it's just a theory Whisk and I have so humour me will _ya_?"

Chop nodded.

"Did you get the vaccine?"

"What vaccine?"

"You know, after Tup went off his head and killed the Padawan? Some sort of weird virus they wanted to treat us for?"

"Ah yeah," Chopper nodded his head in realisation, "_yeah_, I remember now."

Coric was immediately disappointed. He and Whisk had postulated that it might have been something to do with the vaccine that meant the men hadn't questioned the validity of the Order once it was given.

The only ones communicating were the men Coric knew _didn't_ have the vaccine. It had been eerily silent down the line as the carnage continued, Coric had been on closed circuit to Whisk and Didge, talking them through the horror as it unfolded.

"_Nah, nah._ I didn't get it. I was in the tank after my spleen was removed. The med techs said my immune system was too fragile or something. They said I would have to wait, but then we were shipped out."

"Did Sats have it?" It was a desperate question.

"You'd have to ask him _ner vod_. Why all the questions anyway?"

"I dunno Chop, but things just don't add up. I think that - "

"Lieutenant!"

Coric froze and turned slowly to face Appo.

"Commander?"

"I hate to break up this _little love_ fest, but you're required in the med bay a-sap. Following that, drills at 1500. Make sure you're there." He looked the seasoned 212th, "trooper, you have somewhere else you need to be?"

"Sir, yes sir," Chopper replied moving past Coric and continuing back to the barracks.

Appo then turned back to his units medic, "I don't know what you're up to, but get this straight Coric, I'm watching you, you got that?"

"Copy that Commander." Coric stood straight, there was no love lost between the two.

"On the double lieutenant!"

_Fek_, he hated Appo.

.


	12. Chapter 12

**Eleven**

* * *

Rex took a long breath and looked at his plate.

Every part of his training told him he should eat.

But that was his past talking.

The soldier who knew better. That to stay fit, to survive, and_ fight,_ a body required fuel.

Right then however, all the rationalisation in the world didn't help.

Rex still couldn't stomach the idea of food.

There was that reality check again.

_His old life._

So he decided to ignore it and sit at the wooden table, listening to Piia grumble in the background and just... stare.

"Not good enough for you?"

He didn't bother lift his head; he knew she was there long before she entered the room.

"Don't waste your breath _witch_. In order for you to insult me, I would first have to _value_ your opinion."

Ventress laughed softly and moved her curvaceous hips around the table to stand opposite him. With her gnarled hands resting on either side of her body she took in his appearance.

Sullen.

Injured.

The hurt radiated from every pore.

She remembered Rex; two of her more memorable campaigns on Teth and then Dàsos.

She knew the kind of man this one was.

Smart.

Handsome.

Fearless in the heat of battle and Skywalker's chosen clone.

But what made the soldier sitting alone even more interesting was the illicit relationship he had undertaken with a Padawan.

The acolytes mind boggled at the logistics behind that liaison, but she had to give it to Rex; he had forged a life for himself against insurmountable odds.

_And the women obviously like him._

The dynamics of the little shanty had dramatically changed over the past four days. Ahsoka had put her guard back up and had reigned in her feelings once her 'dirty little secret' had been aired.

Ventress on the other hand, found the whole thing quite amusing.

But this wasn't the captain she recognised.

The one who had been a formidable opponent on the field.

Unshaven and dressed only in the bottom half of his body suit, he was an anomaly. There was strength there, but the will had waned.

"You _gonna_ do something about that?" She cocked her head towards the infant now crying in a cot fashioned from a wooden crate.

Rex ignored her, focussing all his energy on the meal for fear of losing his tenuous grip with reality.

He couldn't move his right arm. Ahsoka had bandaged his torso and wrapped it tight against his side to stop him from using it all together.

The pain was bearable; he wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't a constant reminder of what had happened that night in the Temple.

_Fekking Skywalker._

But Ventress always did have a way of getting under his skin.

Rex slowly lifted his line of sight to accommodate her and even without his weapons, he had calculated at least three ways he could disable her. He would have a go if it weren't for his injuries.

_You'll wait._

The one thing he had now he was out of the army, was time.

Watching Skywalker over the years and being intimate with a Jedi had taught him a few tricks in dealing with Force sensitive's.

_Gemma was Force sensitive._

Then the memory of the night he woke up. Once he would have berated himself for crying like a shinie when Ahsoka had confirmed what he knew to be true.

But it all came crashing down; his emotions had got the better of him as soon as he laid eyes on his daughter.

Right there and then, he didn't care what anyone thought. It was a water shed of disappointment. Every set back after set back and resentment from the war had been released.

And then he had slept like never before.

Deep.

Exhaustive.

And for once, without the usual fear associated with closing his eyes.

Rex had pushed the embarrassment aside and had moved onto the second stage of loss.

Anger.

He was angry that _she_ had gone to the Temple that day.

_She never listened to me?_

Angry that she had placed Piia in perilous danger.

_What had she been thinking?_

His thoughts only interrupted by the sound of _that_ voice, the one that sent every hair on edge.

"Alright, then maybe _I'll_ do something about _your_ daughters howling."

Rex couldn't move; his anger had paralysed him. With a wave of her hand Ventress silenced the small child.

But what aggravated Rex most was that a woman he had spent the better part of three years trying to kill, was standing right-in front-of-him and he was powerless to do anything about it. She sensed it then, the spike of anger now directed towards her.

With a smile in her voice she continued.

"There's a good chance you don't like me captain, and an even better one that I don't give a shit. But you're _gonna_ have to put those few remaining brains cells together and work with me here if little Pi - "

"_Don't-you-ever-speak-her-name!_" The words were slow and deliberate. Then in an even lower tone, "why don't you just disappear and die?"

Ventress took the bait.

In fact, she was bored with her babysitting duties involving Rex.

The child on the other hand was a different matter. Rescuing Piia that night at the Temple had been just about the best thing she had done in her life. But with that selfless act came a flood of memories from her past as well.

Ones she thought she had buried along with her old Master.

"Believe me captain, the last time I saw you, I really thought it would be, _the last time I saw you_."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh! Come now Rex," she drawled, "you never disappoint. Just your name is enough to piss me off."

"Well," Rex looked at the food on the plate, "be my guest, eat _osik_ and die." He pushed the meal towards her.

"Good, you _ate _something," Ventress was overly animated; "now I just have to wait for the poison to work. Oh and FYI – I am all out of any medicine that might save you let alone make me like you."

As the insults kept coming, Ahsoka hid behind the door and held a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter from being heard. There was no need to interject.

Yet.

At last Rex had engaged.

And if anyone was going to lift his broken spirit, Ventress was just the woman to do it.

.

"Well, he has certainly complicated things." They both looked at Rex sleeping peacefully with Piia nestled in the crook of his arm.

They both knew they would have to leave their make shift home for either another level.

Or planet.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't either of them the authorities were immediately after.

Any run away clones now had a high price on their head.

"Now let me get this straight, here we have the revered captain of the 501st, the one I should have killed, _but didn't I might add_, absent without leave, with his kid, _God save me_, whose wife, _wait a sec_, were they actually married?"

"Yes."

"Whose _wife_ was a Force sensitive politician and killed by Skywalker at the Temple. And, lets' not forget, the little liaison with a certain Padawan."

"I ended it before it got out of hand."

"Nah, _nah, nah, nah_, _nah,_" she ticked a long painted fingernail at her. "You started it, _that's_ the interesting thing here."

Ahsoka was sorry that Ventress had sensed the unique bond she shared with Rex. She was wary of keeping her emotions in check from now on, especially when it came to Rex. Ahsoka felt excited and sick every time she thought of it.

Now they were both free, relatively speaking to pursue the life she had always dreamt of. Now it all made sense, the visions she thought were incorrect about her and Rex being together.

The visions that lead him back to her.

The loss of Gemma, whilst painful and devastating, now meant she could act out the future she knew in her heart to be true.

_But why did she feel so bad?_

She shook the thoughts from her mind quickly and returned to her conversation with Ventress, annoyed that she had to rehash everything one more time.

"Well, you had the chance to kill him more than once, what stopped you?"

Ventress shrugged a shoulder, "it's like Kenobi. Where would the fun be in that?"

"You liked Kenobi?"

"No. I respected Kenobi. There's a difference. Now, what _you two_ got up too - " she smiled waving her hand around absently.

Ahsoka flushed.

"But that was yesterday," Ventress had enough of toying with Ahsoka's feelings. As interesting as it would have been to find out more, she really couldn't be bothered. "The question is what are _you _going to do now? None of us can stay here much longer. The patrols are delving deeper every day; Vader is meticulous in his searches. The kid is strong, you've sensed it. They need to get off Coruscant."

"You still have your ship?"

"I do, but where? The entire Universe is petrified and will report any clone or former Jedi to the authorities for fear of retribution in protecting them. You saw the vision on the holonet? Your captain is MIA. They know he survived Ahsoka."

"They _assume_ he survived, that's all." She sat back and looked at Rex. Ventress was right, she needed to get them off world and somewhere new.

Then it dawned on her.

She opened up the leather pouch on her hip, the one she had been given the night she left the Jedi Order. Ahsoka pulled out the holo chip with the numbers illuminated on the front display panel.

"I think I know where to go," she said with a smile, "I think I know where we'll be safe."

.

"What are you up to out here _hey_?" Tash walked over to Fives as he sat on the old speeder bike in the garage.

He looked up and smiled. It took her back slightly; it was the first time she had seen him genuinely happy in ages.

"Rex has worked on this, _he was here_. Look!" He pointed to part of the transmission, "this is a _clones work_," he mused, "I'd know it anywhere."

"You've never really spoken about Rex before."

"Not much to say other than he is the reason I became an ARC. Me and Echo that is. He took a chance on us and well, the rest is history."

It was time.

"What happened the night you were shot?"

Fives was now as recovered as much as he ever would.

It took him a while to get going every morning, stiff and hunched over slightly until his medication kicked in. He had lost muscle tone that she knew would never return, he'd simply never be able to train that hard to regain it.

But slowly the old Fives was returning to her.

To Tash, Fives had evolved.

He had matured way beyond the young, angry soldier that walked into her office a lifetime ago. He may have been vulnerable and weak, but he finally had a sense of purpose. And that's how she wanted it to stay for all eternity, safe and hidden in a beautiful part of the galaxy.

Fives was, unbeknownst to her, always waiting for Reed to arrive with news on Coruscant. He might have been discharged with dishonour, but in his heart his brothers and their plight, were always at the fore in his mind.

She watched as he processed her question and sat back on the leather seat. "Commander Fox shot me."

"Fives!"

"I can't remember much more than that honest! The whole thing is a blur. Maybe I was mad? Maybe everything I thought I'd discovered was just that virus they kept talking about, affecting my thinking just like it did to Tup. I don't know Tash. I don't blame Fox. I remember _I_ reached for the weapon. I would have done the same thing. Although," he said with a rueful smile, "I wouldn't have aimed at the chest, we're brothers after all," then under his breath, "c_hakaaryc."_

She watched as he looked down at the starter on the ancient speeder bike.

"Rex was the one who came to our apartment that night."

Fives looked up quickly. She had never spoken about how she managed to get to Oriis other than Reed had delivered on a promise and brought her to him on a supply run.

"He was upset, that I know for sure. I was hysterical, crying and screaming at him. I remember he called you by your designation and I yelled at him, _'Fives, his name is Fives.'_ That's when I saw the hurt on his face. I couldn't help myself though, then he just turned and left."

"Rex," Fives shook his head, "he's a good man, the best of soldiers."

"Strange name for a clone though."

Fives then roared with laughter. "Strange? No! He _earned_ that name."

"Well," she watched him with amusement, "are you going to elaborate?"

"_Ah_, not now," he said laughing. Fives then hit the starter button and the engine didn't miss a beat. He then looked up form under his eyes as only Fives could and flicked his head, intonating for Tash to get on.

"I'm waiting."

"You're going to ride _that?_"

"What, you don't think I can?"

"No, no I never doubted it."

He may not look like the old Fives, but Tash was certainly happy with the new one.

.


	13. Chapter 13

**Twelve**

* * *

The look on his face said it all.

He ran; hard and fast next to the trolley, never letting go of that hand.

He could feel it tighten every now and then and Darman would squeeze it back, just to remind him that he wasn't going anywhere.

Not now.

Not ever.

All he had to do was keep a tight grip and hold on.

For dear life.

Niner just focussed on his best friends face.

He had watched helpless as it all went terribly wrong, the irony being that Etain was killed by one of _her own_, protecting one _of theirs_.

Somewhere the wires had got crossed. Somehow, the message had missed it's mark.

_Why hadn't she just done as she was ordered?_

It didn't matter now.

How many times had they improvised during an extraction?

_Its what we do for feks sake!_

But this time, nothing they could have done would have changed the outcome.

Niner was furious that Darman had stayed with him when there had been a chance to get away.

This now all lay on his weary shoulders.

Darman had made a split decision to stay, when he could have gone.

All the planning had been for nothing.

She may have been a Jedi, but more importantly Etain was a wife, mother and trusted friend to them all; her light now extinguished forever.

As Niner pushed through the emotional and physical pain, he continued to squeeze Darman's fingers until they stopped outside the medical facilities emergency doors.

"Sir. You can't continue through."

That's when Niner saw it, the flash of panic and desperation flicker across Darman's face.

But as quickly as it was shown it was neatly tucked back inside.

Niner had seen it though.

Darman had acknowledged his reality even if it were for the briefest of seconds.

Then the heat from the pain in his back as the repulsor stretcher jolted forward through the ominous doors.

Niner made a muffled cry as his fingers were pulled from Darman's at the very last second, their brown eyes conveying everything there was no time left to say.

Whatever happened from this point forward was out of his control.

_Here we go again._

_._

Niner glided down the corridor as the staff talked around _him_, over _him_ \- but never _to_ him.

He should have known better.

Niner knew the drill.

His fate lay with the bean counters.

A Republic commodity that was broken and in desperate need of repair.

Was he a worthy investment?

_They've had their credits worth outta me over the years._

As he lay there and stared at the ceiling lights, his thoughts couldn't erase the image of his own eyes boring down on him.

.

"Bottom line it gentlemen," she said as she waited for the stretcher to stop and be locked.

"SCI. He fell from a bridge apparently. Responsive to stimuli. Vitals are sable after 2 hypos of Morpha."

"OK, let's get him undressed," then she muttered, "interesting armour. Who is he anyway?"

The med droid ran a scanner over his arm, "RC-1309."

The doctor rose a perfectly coiffed eyebrow. It was obvious to her he wasn't the same as the other soldier she had just finished treating.

The team moved quickly; carefully removing his armour and cutting away his bodysuit with military precision.

Even his black undershorts were removed. By this point, Niner would normally disappear into the drug induced haze only to re-emerge out of the bacta alive and grateful of it.

Something was wrong this time, things were different.

This wasn't the usual blaster burn or broken bones; there was an air of uncertainty enveloping him, beginning with the female medico.

_What the fek is going on here?_

"I need chest and pelvic films and a full trauma panel."

"Copy that ma'am."

He was deliberately kept awake, and it frightened him.

_Keep your osik together, just breathe through it._

Niner let out a controlled breath, he knew why; they needed to assess him before he was knocked out cold.

Lying naked on the gurney with his head strapped tight he groaned with disdain when the word c_atheter_ was mentioned and winced as he felt the discomfort associated with the fine wire being inserted.

_That's a good sign right?_

The flame haired doctor then leaned forward and moved the stethoscope from around her neck and placed it gently on his chest to listen. Niner was aware of her scent as it wafted over him, distracting him momentarily.

"Ma'am?"

She straightened and looked at the man, "yes?"

"I'm_ cold_," he said feeling instantly embarrassed he had mentioned it.

She had to think fast, "where exactly?" Difficulties with temperature regulation was a sign of spinal cord damage.

"All over, _you know_? I'm kinda _hanging out_ there." It was awkward, but she seemed to get the message.

She turned quickly and placed a small sterile towel from the trauma trolley over his groin.

"Thank you," Niner breathed.

He didn't know why it was so important to him at that moment. He had been through a gambit of emotions all in the space of three hours, but right then, misguided modesty had got the better of him.

He then closed his eyes and waited.

He had heard the hand over medic.

SCI.

She continued to perform a variety of tests, all silently as they waited for the reports to come back.

"Are you experiencing any difficulty breathing?"

"No."

"Tell me if you can feel this," she stated as she ran her nail down the length of his thigh.

"_Ye -_" Niner cleared his throat, "yes."

"And this?"

"Yes."

"OK, can you wiggle your toes for me?"

Niner waved his right toes then tried his left. They moved, but were not as responsive.

"Any pain?"

"Yes," he grunted out. A worried look crossed his eyes and she looked straight into them.

"That's alright. Just rest a minute and _we'll -_ "

"Ma'am. We have the results from the preliminary scans."

Everyone appeared to hold their collective breath.

She held out her hand for the data pad and read the report. Niner could hear his heart pulsing through his ears and even the _2-1B_ seemed anxious for her to reveal the findings.

"You have a hair line fracture of lumbar vertebrae 4 and 5. We'll manage you in ICU Bacta for 48 hours and then we'll be able to assess your ROM."

Niner continued to stare at the ceiling.

"ROM?"

"Range of Movement."

Silence; there it was.

The reality of Shinarcan bridge.

The reality of surviving.

"Thank you," he said, but his thoughts had already moved on to another.

One, who no amount of bacta could fix.

Darman.

.

"Jakline! Wait up?"

Dr Jakline Termonen stopped. She had just made her second diagnosis as a qualified doctor.

"That was a good call."

"The results speak for themselves. With time in bacta and physical therapy he should make a full recovery. Now, if there is _nothing else_?"

It was clear by her tone that there definitely _wasn't._

The clone medic stopped and stood to attention.

"No ma'am."

"Good. Keep me posted of his condition."

She then turned and continued down the corridor, her slender heels echoing slightly as she swung into the female refresher. Making her way into a cubicle she fumbled as he locked the door before she expelled the contents of her stomach into the ceramic bowl. As she was breathing hard into the basin, her pager sounded.

It was trial by fire.

The Republic Commando 1309 took her patient quota up to two.

'_Emergency Room 6 A-SAP'_

Now it was time for lucky number three…

.

Niner might have slept, but he never rested. His dreams haunted by the vision of Etain and all the confusion on that bridge.

He was aware of someone moving around behind him just before he caught the scent.

It was her; the young red haired doctor he saw seven hours earlier.

Not that he had been counting.

"It's only me," she stated as she moved around and sat in the chair next to him. It had been a particularly long shift for the young doctor.

Number three hadn't been so lucky after all and her success rate for the day was at a demoralising 66.6%

She smiled automatically before she began reading the medical notes. Niner liked her, she seemed earnest, in a comforting way. Slender, pretty he thought and young, with interesting gold coloured eyes, the likes of which he had never seen before. She sat there, chewing the inside of her mouth as she flipped through the flimsies and the laboratory numbers.

"Everything seems to be progressing nicely. How are_ you_ doing?"

"Thirsty," he said with a dry voice.

"You can have some ice chips," she said as she nodded to a medic and returned to reading his medical record. "This is promising RC-1309."

"Niner."

"Pardon?"

"Name is Niner."

"Oh, well _Niner_, the small amount of swelling to the spinal cord caused by the fractures appears to have reduced, partly due to the bacta of course but I foresee _a _-"

"You said fracture, no one said anything about my spinal cord." His heart rate immediately rose and Jakline stood and turned down the monitor.

It was 0200.

"Easy. You're doing ok. Here, open your mouth," she said as she placed some ice chips in. Jakline watched as he savoured the feeling.

To Niner, this was worse than being knocked out and floating like an adult foetus in the chambers. It was the first time he had been in one of the horizontal ICU tanks, strapped down with his head poking out, it felt wrong.

"I'll be back later in the morning OK."

His eyes followed her for a moment before he spoke.

"Can I have something to help me sleep?"

"_Of course_," she said more gently and automatically reached out and touched his forehead. Niner closed his eyes momentarily before she retracted her hand, "I need 5 milligrams of IV Somaprin."

The medic moved quickly to the drug cabinet and began measuring out a dose of sedative. Niner listened to the soft tinkling of her heels as she left the ward before finally falling into a restful sleep.

.


	14. Chapter 14

Please be aware that parts of this chapter may be deemed M rated

**Thirteen**

* * *

0230 hours

Jakline left ICU and walked straight to the on-call room. There she opened her locker and removed her scrubs and re dressed. It was 0230 and she had approximately 5.5 hours before she was required to report in for her next shift. She was aware of the door opening behind her and turned to see the emergency room chief prepare to do exactly the same.

"Hear you had a tough day?"

"Not great. Two outta three." He looked at her pale skin and smiled. He knew what it was like to prove yourself once you'd made it to consultant.

"I don't want to see you in here before 1200 tomorrow. You hear me?"

_An extra four hours._

"I might just take you up on that," she replied as she slammed the locker shut.

Jakline smiled and he couldn't help but reciprocate. She had definitely made a name for herself over the past sixteen hours.

He had made sure she had been given the tougher of the incoming cases. As a registrar she had proven herself time and again with her quick thinking and pragmatic approach to emergency medicine.

Her first case as a qualified emergency physician was something new, but not taxing; by Republic standards. Burns due to an unlucky light sabre slash across the face.

She sedated the soldier and then removed the helmet and then more delicately, the fragments implanted in the underlying fascia.

There was no denying it – it was horrific. Jakline was initially surprised by the extent of damage. But after three hours of debriding and calling in the plastics team, they managed to make something of CT-31-5932's face.

He would fight again, albeit disfigured for life.

_Nothing a helmet couldn't disguise_.

Then the commando with the spinal injury, which required nothing more than stabilisation and bacta. That one was a waiting game, a ticking time bomb, but one she was sure would eventually work out.

He had shook her slightly, jogging a memory she had kept neatly tucked away for just on a year. The quietly spoken commando, worried about his ROM and modesty in the presence of a woman.

'Jakline?"

"Hmmm?"

"Jak, listen to me would ya. Watch your back ok? This business with the Jedi, something's just not sitting right. Look," the Chief said as he sat down on the bench, "the Republic wanted civvie doctors _in_ right from the beginning. Said it was important to have non-clone and non-droid medics to treat the men; keep the playing field even. But things have changed. Ever since that clone had a go at the Chancellor, they haven't been renewing contracts. I was surprised that they even appointed you in the new ER consult position."

She knew what he was saying was right. There were more new medics pouring into army med and they seemed _different_ from the ones she was used to working alongside.

Quiet and more compliant, they were meticulous and without reproach, but were devoid of the more quirky personalities she had come to expect, and appreciate from clone medics.

"Just keep your eyes open, and expect _anything_." He then stood and pulled a coat over his blue scrubs. "1200, no earlier and no later."

Jakline nodded her head and removed her bag from its hook, stalling for time as he left. Then she allowed herself the small luxury she often did at the end of a shift.

She indulged herself in a memory.

.

_**Thirteen months earlier**_

"_**We have a head injury inbound. ETA 3 minutes."**_

"_**I got it," Jakline stated, jumping out of her chair and making her way to the ER entrance. Pulling on a gown and surgical gloves she stood, hands clasped together and waited, not knowing her life was about to change forever.**_

_**A soldier was wheeled in; concussion from a fall from an AT-AP back firing. She played it by the book, ordering the appropriate work up and waited for the results to come in. **_

_**Checking his pupillary light reflex, she continued, "your brain scan is clear. You'll be placed in bacta for 6 hours, then we'll rescan you afterwards to make sure there is no bleeding into the brain."**_

_**Panic must have set in as the soldier began to thrash about on the bed at the mention of the tank.**_

"_**Whoa whoa whoa! Stop! I need some help in here," she yelled back over her shoulder as the clone on the stretcher struggled to be kept under control. **_

_**Jakline pushed him down with all her strength and stared into his fear-laden eyes when she became aware of the curtain being pushed back and someone stepping through. **_

_**Copaani mirshmure'cye vod?" Then in Basic, "she's trying to help you!"**_

_**The soldier slumped back before he threw his head over the side of the gurney and vomited. **_

"_**Gar serim, that's it, you're in good hands brother," he said more gently as he held a bed pan under his chin.**_

"_**Thank you. I can take it from here," she said as she took in his appearance.**_

_**The black bodysuit peeled down to expose his muscular torso and unlike the clone she was treating, his chest was covered in dark hair. He also appeared thicker than the norm. He held his left arm into him for protection. The lower part of his armour was clean, but heavily dented and scratched. **_

_**This soldier had seen some action.**_

_**He quickly lowered his eyes before quietly nodding and disappearing to the other side of the curtain, as silently as he appeared.**_

_**Jakline's thoughts were brought back to the present with another lurch of the wounded man's shoulders and the sound of dry retching.**_

"_**OK, let's get you cleaned up. Orderly!"**_

_**She then sat at the centre consul and typed up the report on her concussed AT-AP driver, tapping down the medication regime and the order for him to head into bacta as soon as a tank freed up.**_

"_**Next case," she heard as a data pad was unceremoniously dumped in front of her.**_

"_**I don't appreciate being spoken to in that manner Jon."**_

"_**That's why they pay you the big bucks isn't it? You know the saying, 'can't take the heat - '" **_

"_**Fek off," she said with a glamorous smile and continued to read the triage report. "This is just a simple shoulder reduction! You can do this!"**_

"_**I could, but it's my break."**_

_**Jon was in direct competition with Jakline for the new senior position. Both had begun their registrar training at the same time, however he was convinced that she must have been sleeping with one of the consultants to have lasted as long and to be such a threat to his career. **_

_**She was simply, in his way.**_

_**The truth be told, it was of his own doing. Jon was never available for the weekend or graveyard shifts, thinking those hours beneath a senior registrar. **_

_**And that belligerent attitude would in the long run, come back to haunt him.**_

_**Jakline sighed and stood making her way to cubicle 4, sliding the curtain open she was startled to see the same quiet man, who had helped her two hours earlier.**_

"_**You're still here?" she questioned.**_

"_**Yes ma'am."**_

"_**You know your shoulder is dislocated right?" **_

"_**Yes ma'am."**_

"_**How's your pain?"**_

"_**Tolerable ma'am."**_

"_**Well, I'm going to reduce it and put you into a tank for three hours. You're status will be reinstated to active after 24."**_

"_**Understood ma'am."**_

_**He watched as she pulled a chair over to the bed.**_

"_**Can you sit up straight in this chair for me?"**_

_**He winced as he moved off the bed and sat gingerly holding his arm and straightened as best he could.**_

_**Jakline knelt down and stretched her neck. He was aware of her ponytail moving and then the scent that annoyed him slightly.**_

_**Fragrance. Why do women wear fragrance?**_

_**She gently took hold of his arm and held the elbow, "I want you to rest your arm against mine, and relax your shoulders."**_

"_**Easier said than done ma'am."**_

_**Jakline chuckled lightly, "I know, it'll be over in less than a minute. Sit up straight again for me, that's it."**_

_**He did as he was ordered, and with her left thumb depressed hard into the crook of his arm, she began massaging his trapezius with her right.**_

"_**Ma'am?"**_

"_**Keep sitting up straight, I know it's uncomfortable, and take a few deep breaths, we have to relax these muscles. Trust me."**_

_**Her hand then moved down to his deltoid and then she began working on his bicep, deep tissue massaging the area until she was satisfied that the joint had been replaced.**_

"_**There, all done."**_

"_**Wh – what?"**_

"_**All done." Jakline began moving his arm around while continuing to check that the joint was realigned, "perfect," she breathed out. "OK, hold your arm while I sling it and you can head straight into bacta.**_

"_**That's amazing. Thank you."**_

"_**Ba'gedet'ye." **_

"_**And you know Mando'a as well?"**_

_**She lent across him and threaded the sling over his head, manoeuvring the strap into place and over his left hand.**_

"_**You pick it up quickly around here! Right, you're good to go." She looked up and stared at him directly.**_

"_**All the best soldier, and thanks for your help earlier," but before he could answer, she was gone and an orderly appeared.**_

"_**Sir, I'm here to transport you to the tank room."**_

"_**My armour?"**_

"_**It'll be sent across to you for when you emerge."**_

_**He sighed; the most pleasant thing about ripping his shoulder definitely wasn't time out bobbing around in a tank for the rest of the afternoon.**_

_**It was meeting her.**_

_**.**_

_**She left that shift at 1800, marching out of the hospital feeling satisfied at a decent days work. Crossing the street she turned a corner, humming to herself when she heard a voice. **_

"_**Good evening ma'am."**_

_**She swung around to see him leaning up against her building. Even dressed in crimson fatigues, she knew who he was.**_

"_**Your shoulder better?" she asked as she walked slowly over to him.**_

"_**Yes ma'am," he replied as he pushed himself off the wall and turned to face her.**_

_**He had sought her out independently. It had been easy considering his position as a commando meant he had access to Republic records. **_

_**Jakline couldn't help but smile as she stood in front of him. They had both felt it, the attraction, the impossibility of their situation making it all the more important to act on a hunch.**_

_**And she was glad he did.**_

_**He was gentle in his approach right up to the point where he cupped her face with his large hands and without a word crushed his lips down on hers. The scratchy stubble of his beard rasped against her skin and Jakline knew she would have a mark there in the morning. **_

_**Right then, she didn't care.**_

_**Pressed up against the wall of her apartment block she longed for him to continue. A low moan from somewhere dark escaped him as his hand moved down to seductively stroke one of her thighs. **_

"_**Wait. Not here," she breathed into his mouth as they touched foreheads to regain composure. A couple of people looked on as they passed the pair and she giggled like a teenager before pushing him towards the security entrance of her building.**_

_**Inside the elevator ride to the fifteenth floor he continued the rampage on her mouth, running a hand up the inside of her leg to seek out the fine material that was already, damp with passion. **_

_**Jakline threw her head back against the mirrored wall.**_

"_**Arrhhh," she breathed through the desire that was coursing through her, desperate to contain it for when they were completely undressed.**_

_**She fumbled through her handbag, cursing lightly as he held her from behind and swiped the card over the sensor, and together they stumbled into the darkened space. Too anxious to find the bedroom, he flung her hard up against the closed door, her bag dropping unceremoniously to the ground.**_

_**There she ran her hands underneath the crimson tunic to reveal the perfect musculature she treated that afternoon. He continued to kiss her neck, holding her perfectly in place with his hips. There they moved in unison, if they had done this a thousand times before.**_

_**As if they belonged together.**_

_**She felt dwarfed, trapped, thrilled.**_

_**He had the faint smell of bacta and chlorine on him, the sterile scent fuelling her lust further. **_

"_**Just relax," he growled into her ear, the vibration of his voice making her dizzy.**_

_**Jakline relinquished all power and stood silent as he deftly began to undo each button on her blouse. Under the veil of heavy eyelashes she watched as he smiled and pulled the material from her shoulders seductively slow.**_

_**Jakline reached around and unzipped her skirt followed by unfastening her brassiere while he stood back to remove his tunic. **_

_**Then he looked up coyly, his boyish charm making her smile openly as he dropped his trousers.**_

_**Then that moment.**_

_**That moment when skin on skin touches for the first time. **_

_**The overwhelming passion caught them both unaware as they held one another for what seemed an eternity. He ran a hand up her side stopping to cup a breast, reigniting the passion that she could feel hard against her belly.**_

_**He lifted her up effortlessly, "which way?"**_

"_**First on the left." **_

_**In the darkness of the room, Jakline relaxed back on the bed and let her knees fall apart naturally. Delicately, he positioned himself inside her, lingering in her all-encompassing warmth.**_

_**Silently and slowly they began the rhythm of union, Jakline noticed his jaw set tight in concentration. The pressure of him moving inside her began to build until there was nothing holding either of them back. **_

"_**I want to come," she whispered.**_

_**He grabbed her thick hair like it was a rope and continued to push until she cried out in pain and ecstasy. Blowing hard into her ear he rolled off and they both were still, looking up at the ceiling waiting for their breath to return.**_

"_**And to think I tried to push your case onto someone else."**_

"_**I'd rip the other shoulder just to see you again," he said as he propped himself up on an elbow to look at her.**_

_**She took in a deep breath and stretched.**_

"_**I suppose you're hungry?"**_

"_**Starving."**_

_**The room filled with their laughter as he pulled her into him and she rested on his right shoulder, glad that for one reason or another, he had hurt the left and found his way.**_

_**To her.**_

.

0245

Jakline wiped away the errant tear and placed her satchel over her shoulder, and as she then emerged from behind the doors, another trooper, one in the same armour as patient number two stood, looking anxious and tired she approached.

"Ma'am?"

"Hasn't anyone spoken to you yet?"

Darman felt his heart literally stop beating in his chest.

He steadied himself and waited for the response. Jakline saw it and spoke.

"Your friend will be alright. He has a fractured spine, but it's stable. There is only minor swelling of the spinal cord at that point but I expect he will make a full recovery."

Darman continued to stare at her face.

He was in shock.

Quickly Jakline moved forward and grabbed his forearm, startled, Darman flung his arm up, inadvertently pushing her back two steps.

"Do you understand what I said?"

He didn't speak, he couldn't.

The emotion had finally caught up with him.

Darman sat back into the small chair and she watched as the man in the impenetrable suit crumpled.

Jakline sighed and sat heavily next to him and waited. She waited for him to finish whatever it was she had started. Darman held his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees and sobbed like he had never done before.

Little did Jakline know it wasn't just over the man she had treated, but for someone more important; someone he wasn't allowed to acknowledge.

Someone he wasn't allowed to mourn.

A Jedi.

_His life partner._

As he regained control, Darman took three deep breaths and Jakline took this as his cue that the emotional outpouring was coming to an end.

Patiently she waited until he nodded recognition of her previous question.

"Can I see him?"

"He's in ICU for another 40 hours, I'm not sure hospital protocol _allows -_ "

"I need to be with him!" He stood and made his way to the door. "You don't understand what they'll do." He knew then he had said the wrong thing.

_She is one of them, isn't she?_

He was confused.

Everything that had happened had left him unsure of himself.

_What's she doing in army med?_

Darman took a step towards her, his DC17 clutched to his chest for fortitude and intimidation.

But it wouldn't work on her.

She knew what type of men these were

She knew about this bond the clones shared. It was a well documented phenomenon in the Republic Cloning Manual. She had read up on it.

They were loyal to the end.

"Follow me," she said as she stepped past him, "this isn't regulation but if you don't cause any trouble I'll get you clearance to sit with Niner."

With the mention of his name, Darman stopped.

"What do they call you?"

"Darman, ma'am."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"No ma'am."

She sighed again. For an army of such importance, the Republic didn't seem to care about their physical well being.

She depressed a few numbers and the massive doors hissed open quickly and he followed her through to the ICU unit. There Darman felt deflated once again at the sight of Niner in the tank.

"What's these tanks?" he asked confused.

"Intensive care. Means we can keep him in traction and stable while the injury heals. Here," she pulled out a chair, "You can place your gun under the tank, they aren't allowed in here and I'll organise someone to get you some food."

Darman stood dumbfounded, looking at Niner asleep.

"Weapon."

"Pardon?"

"It's called a weapon, not a gun."

"Oh, ok. Well place it here or you'll loose it. I'll be back in the morning, in the meantime, try and get some rest. You look as though you need it."

You have no idea Darman thought.

You have no idea.

But she did.

.


	15. Chapter 15

**Fourteen**

* * *

"Jak!" It was Switch.

"Just a sec, I need to send this through."

The clone orderly jiggled slightly on the spot as she hit the save button and then slid into the seat next to her.

"You have to stop looking OK?"

"Why?" She smiled as she looked into the earnest face next to her.

"Because you can't keep using my code, that's why. Its classified Jaks."

"But - "

"But _nothing_. If they do an audit, they'll see _my_ log on searching the list. You have to stop, they'll haul my _shebs_ back to Kamino for snooping where I shouldn't. _They know_ I have no reason to search the data base like that. Just stop. Now. OK?"

Jakline sat back in her chair and looked at her friend. Switch had been loyal without fault and had helped her initially when she needed a friend.

When all the tears in the world wouldn't help, Switch could.

So he started by checking the list which was updated daily at 0600.

The list of those injured and killed in action.

The list of the missing.

And then that day when he finally turned up – missing.

She was looking over her friends shoulder that morning.

Her heart caught in her throat when she saw the numbers she had dedicated to memory.

If it wasn't so painful she would have laughed at the irony; someone so lost only to be found on a list stating the obvious.

Jakline on the other hand saw it as a sign.

She worked harder than before, determined to qualify and finish ahead of her peers.

_To be_ an attending at Army Med _the second_ he was found.

She had justified it in her own mind, refusing to give in and move on.

As long as she kept working, and checking, she could keep going.

The alternative, to unbearable to face.

.

"I heard you were out and up."

Niner turned and smiled broadly. The spinal fractures had healed and he was about to begin the gruelling physiotherapy regime to get him back to work.

Only this time, he was fighting for the other side.

It didn't bare thinking.

The cruel twist of fate that saw the end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of something worse.

They had no choice.

A Republic cog replaced by a variation of the roundel they served under with pride.

The symbol however, was of no consequence.

They were trained to kill, it didn't matter who. But Niner now had a new objective.

To get back to Darman.

Always by his side, his best friend had sat guard throughout his time in bacta, right up until Niner could stand and he felt secure in leaving him alone.

He also never spoke of the night both their worlds changed.

It was now Niner's turn to repay the favour; time for the sarge to step up, settle the sore and make things right.

If only he knew just how the _fek_ he was going to do it.

.

Jakline felt as though she MIA as well. It never crossed her mind that the last time he left her it may have been the last. He was RC, the biggest and the most armoured of them all. Lying naked on the bed she watched as he dressed quickly, mumbling something to himself before he turned to her and smiled while clipping his chrono back on.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't rightly know. We are being assigned to the 212th Attack Battalion. Must be something big," he grunted as he sat down next to her and bent over to pull on a boot. When he finished, he clasped Jakline's head in his hands and sent a searing kiss onto her mouth. She swayed as he let her go and stood.

'Love you," he stated simply.

"Love you more," was the _only_ reply.

So every day she would log on using someone else's code and check the status. As long as the M didn't change into a K, she was happy.

He didn't know that she had achieved her goal and qualified. He couldn't have known she had never taken another lover, her heart solely belonging to him. And she would continue to work hard, continue to prove herself by helping those in need and wait; wait for his status to be changed and walk through those doors and back into her life.

It was the only thing keeping her going.

She looked behind her quickly and hit the enter button on the key board, the curser blinking again, like a familiar friend.

She blew out a long breath, nothing had changed.

It was, as it always had been.

CC-5576-39 ; MIA

.


	16. Chapter 16

**Fifteen**

* * *

Gem made her way back from her mission to acquire food to find Jesse sitting up in the rack.

"You OK?" She asked as she placed a couple of wrapped ration bars down on the small chest.

Jesse nodded and stood.

"Here, I found these. I thought you could mash them up with some water. Make them easier to swallow."

He smiled and picked one up, intonating for her to take to the cot and grab some rest.

Jess then took to wandering the ship, looking over parts carefully as he walked the corridors. He knew the instant he stepped on-board she was a smugglers, with traps and extra storage hidden behind bulkheads and inside ventilation shafts. With a little concentration, it wasn't hard to pick them out. If they were raided by an Empire cruiser, he knew exactly where he could hide within the air conditioning system.

Like _that_ night.

Jesse opened the door to the galley. As hard as he tried, he couldn't shake the vision of Vail's face.

He found it difficult to sleep, his thoughts and dreams haunted by that moment, that last goodbye.

Confusion, heartbreak; loss.

_Always loss_.

The Coruscant Guard was the one person he trusted and had confided in, and now, like all the others, he was gone too.

He sat alone in the galley, with the hood of his jacket down low to keep his face hidden.

Gem was right.

The tattoo would have to go.

A symbol he once wore with pride was an emblem of the past, one that now marked him as a wanted.

Units had been deployed to bring to justice any soldier who had disappeared once the Jedi cull and ensuing confusion on the Core World had begun. He sighed and turned the small monitor on and watched as the holonews showed more images of soldiers, relabelled Republic traitors, being hauled in by men in ubiquitous white suits. With no colours or individual markings, Jesse couldn't tell who was doing the pushing.

Two from Bantha were marched unceremoniously in front of the camera's. Their armour looked ragged against the pristine white, and one was limping heavily as the reporter panned to an image of Commander Fox, standing straight in front of the new Empire lock up.

The Guard were still wearing crimson.

Jesse then rose slowly, looking for another when his attention was distracted by a voice from behind.

"I've seen your kind before."

Jesse swung around and readied himself to fight. The surge of adrenaline admixed with the pain med's causing his head to swim momentarily.

"Don't worry son. I'm neither after the credits or the drama involved in reporting you to the Empire. Sit down and continue your meal," he looked at the gruel in the bowl.

Jesse relaxed a little as the man stepped out of the darkness and began to pour himself a drink.

"_Caf?"_

Jesse shook his head, his lips pursed and waited, calculating a way out if necessary.

"Well, you may not be a soldier anymore boy, but I am still captain of this ship and I am telling you, to _sit_." He pointed to the chair and gestured for him to do as he had been ordered.

Jesse was tired and sat down slowly, mulling the spoon over in his hand before he brought the beige coloured cereal to his mouth. The captain watched as he winced and swallowed.

"You're injured. We have a medic on board. Granted, nothing fancy like you've been used to. None of that bacta shit either. Just old fashioned doctoring"

Jesse slumped a little further into his seat and shook his head.

"Things have certainly changed for you lot, haven' they? Not to worry. That lady you're travelling with. She Jedi_?"_

Jesse grabbed his throat gently and mouthed, "no. Politician."

"I see. Well, I won't hold that against her." Fletcha continued to look at the clone soldier, "amazing," he said as he shook his head with a smile.

"What?" Another whisper under excruciating pain.

"The likeness. This bloody cloning technology, I'll never get it. Anyway, listen to me son. I had someone like _you_ on board, a year or so ago." Jesse looked from under the hood of his jacket and waited for him to continue.

"He jettisoned over Scillals' orbit. He would be someone you should consider finding, if you get my drift?"

Jesse got the message, loud and clear, and if he weren't that tired and in such pain he would have asked more questions.

Fletcha then stood from his chair, "we'll be hitting Kayl's orbit in five hours. It is a good planet, no Empire and no reason for them to visit, yet. The salt air would do you both some good." Jesse watched in silence as the captain of the Bounty, a pirate smugglers ship tossed the remnants of his _caf _into the sink followed by his plastimug. "From there, you could get a transport to Eudesa. Ships leave for Scillal on the odd month." Jesse nodded and stood also, extending his hand and mouthing thank you as they clasped.

"Don't forget. Scillal."

With that, the captain was gone and Jesse had lost what little appetite he had to begin with. He looked at the beige mush in the bowl and forced two spoonful's down, knowing his body needed the protein to heal.

Quietly he made his way back to the room he shared with the _politician_ and opened the door.

She quickly sat up, slightly dazed from sleep.

Jess raised both hands and reached for the data pad.

**Kayl in 5 standard.**

Gem was getting used to the perfunctory datapad messages . Truth be told, she liked the brevity. Jesse had proven to be the perfect travelling companion. Unable to talk there would be no rehashing what happened on Coruscant. No long conversations, just brief one line statements that she could choose to elaborate on if she chose to.

She nodded and moved over to allow more room on the rack. Jesse shook his head, and squatted on the floor opposite letting his head rest back on the bulkhead. Gem watched as the gentle swaying of the ship rocked his head slightly, then fell back to sleep, disturbed only when the repulsors engaged as they descended through the atmosphere of Kayl.

.

Ahsoka was well aware of the particular bad mood that had descended over Rex.

Both she and the acolyte had sensed the darkness that had enveloped him entirely.

Apart from cooing with his daughter, he kept communication with anyone else, to a bare minimum.

But one afternoon, whilst discussing which planets would be an option for them to disappear to, Ahsoka decided she'd had enough.

"That's a ridiculous choice!" he said incredulously. "You of _ALL_ people, should know that the Jawa's would sell us out faster than pulling apart an R2 unit. C'mon Ahsoka, you can do better than that."

Ahsoka kept her eyes low and with an even tone replied, "when are you going to tell me what is bugging you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard Rex. I am sick to death of the cold shoulder treatment. Tell me what the problem is, so we can address it, and move on."

Rex looked at her, anger written all over his face.

With a raised eyebrow, Ventress got the message and took Piia for a walk, leaving the two to thrash it out alone. She sat next to him silently and waited, and after what seemed like the longest of minutes he finally relinquished.

"You took my armour and disposed it without informing me."

Ahsoka immediately went on the back foot.

"I had to!" She cried. "Don't you see? If we were caught with any of it, well," she stammered looking for words, "you've seen first hand what the Empire is capable of? You of all people Rex! I kept your hand blasters, isn't that enough?"

"No."

She stood and belligerently placed both hands on her hips hips, "well I'm sorry ok? I'm sorry for taking your precious armour. If we manage to get off this planet alive and undetected, I promise to get you some more. Happy?"

"No."

"What? Oh, I give up."

"You don't understand."

"_I don't understand_," she stressed, "that's rich, I think I had less than you when I left."

"I JUST WANTED MY GAUNTLETS OK. YOU NEVER SHUT UP LONG ENOUGH TO LISTEN TO WHAT ANY ONE IS SAYING! _FEK!_"

Rex trembled with anger.

"Well if you could TELL me, then maybe I would!"

Rex sat down heavily, "it doesn't matter now anyway."

She sat next to him, "Rex, please, just talk to me. We've got to be in this together, for Piia's sake. To get her to a safe location so you can both get on with your lives, to rebuild and mourn properly. Not here," she said looking around, "in this dump."

It was time to come clean, to reveal another intimate layer.

The events post Order 66 had seen him laid naked physically and emotionally and Rex was reluctant to reveal the last little piece he had kept all to himself.

With a whisper he replied, "my left gauntlet had the only image I had of Gem."

As he said the words, Ahsoka felt the purge in his Force signature.

She knew how hard that would have been for him. Rex had been the captain of one of the most fearless units in the GAR. Soldiers, and Jedi alike looked to him to lead them out of trouble, to make decisions that held their collective fate.

And he would do it, without second thought, he was as open as a leader could be.

But this was different.

This was highly personal, and she appreciated his honesty, finally.

There would be more tears and hard times to come, but with this small revelation, Rex had taken the first step in learning to let others help.

Then she remembered the ritualistic tapping of his left glove to his chest. He told her one day he would explain why he did it, but never got the chance. And now, she had thrown away the one thing that meant more to him than the plastoid that kept them alive.

"Oh, Rex, I'm so sorry," she moved her head around so he had to look at her, "but if it is an image of Gem you want, that's easy. All we have to do is look her up on the holonet. She'll be there, listed under the Oriian government site. Look," she moved over to grab her old datapad, "here, see? Here she is."

An image of Gemma appeared on the screen.

It had been taken the day she had been inducted into Parliament on Coruscant and Rex knew she was wearing the Narglatch claw he had given her.

It was bittersweet and made his heart yearn a little more, seeing her youth and beauty immortalised on the screen.

"You'll will never forget her Rex, you only have to look at Piia to see that. Come on, we need to make a decision before Ventress gets sick and tired of us and leaves with the only ride we have."

He nodded, his eyes still transfixed on his dead wife's face.

"Tantooine is still too risky."

"I agree, where would you suggest?"

And with that, Rex mellowed slightly as they discussed a route to Oriis that would throw any Empirical tracking team off their scent. After many hours debating the merits of several mid rim planets and moons, Ahsoka and Rex came up with the perfect plan.

"I should have remembered that," he said with a knowing smile.

"It's decided then. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night."

.


	17. Chapter 17

**Sixteen**

* * *

"Senator Carr! A word if I may?"

She recognised the voice and steeled herself before she turned and watched in horror as the malformed face of the Emperor elect attempted an insincere smile.

Olphina knew there would be questions regarding the Peoples Representative for Oriis and had been trained by Fox in what to say.

"_But what if he knows I'm lying? If he's one of these so called dark Jedi, don't they sense the truth?"_

Fox didn't know how to answer her.

He had played it by the book since the order went down.

It had been just on a month and things showed no sign of slowing. The newly formed Empire was a juggernaut, unbeknownst to them, manufactured way before the Jedi were eliminated.

Way before they were even created.

Like a benign tumour, the Sith had sat back and waited until the time was right to turn on itself and grow into a all encompassing malignancy.

It seemed the Coruscant Guard had slipped under the HQ radar for the interim, and it had given the commander time to orchestrate a contingency.

"_I want to leave,"_ Olphina had stated one night after he announced another four former Republic soldiers had been transferred to the watch house. All men had been hunted down and brutally beaten by Vader's First. Once the fairest and the best, the former 501st were now the most feared within their own ranks.

Fox himself had been deplored at the ferocity in which the two 212th and the two 104th had been treated.

He pulled Olphina in close and whispered in her ear, _"remember what I told you to say. That somehow, Representative Gem had become injured during the cull and you had her, and her daughter, transported back to Oriis to rehabilitate. That's all you know."_

"_But they'll check the medical records, the flight manifest!"_

"_I've looked after that. Just repeat what I said. Nothing more, nothing less. Keep it brief."_

He continued to hold her tight, hoping that he had done enough to halt any further investigation into the flight that left Coruscant in the early hours of the morning which never reached it's intended destination.

Fox was privy to classified information and checked the lists that were updated daily and was aware that Flight Lieutenant Reed had been added to the, _person of interest_ column.

The list grew daily.

Rex had been updated as MIA, which puzzled Fox, but with no one left he could trust, he remained tight lipped.

Wolffe was listed POI as well; his ship never landing back in the Hanger Bay after the notorious pack took out their General Koon.

Gree was dead and Commander Cody was back in his office, seemingly oblivious to the chaos all around him.

Not that Fox could tell.

With the new colourless armour, soldiers appeared as bland as the pristine white they wore. Devoid of character and personality, everyone was just going about their business without asking the one question that ate away at his thoughts.

_Why?_

Fox knew the Guard would be next to be refitted, but he had requested that they stay in crimson in the interim, to allow the politicians the dignity of differentiating between _their _Guard and regular troopers.

On the surface, no one would have guessed that Commander Fox was on the verge of losing it; appearing calm and outwardly in control, the cracks however, were starting to show.

The intrigue was beginning to get to him.

He had to shut down mentally towards the men delivered into lock up. Processing them, reading them their rights, the irony being that _they had none to begin with_, then bringing in the staff medics to treat their injuries.

He made sure that his men knew that the interned were to be treated appropriately, not in the manner in which they had been delivered by the 501st.

Fox was mildly envious of each and every one of them.

Individually they had the balls to make a decision for themselves.

Throughout the day Fox made it his business to monitor the CCTV screens and check on how each of the men were travelling.

All in solitary confinement, some slept, only rising to eat and use the 'freshers. A few he noticed, paced the cell, one in particular kept yelling and punching the walls, desperate to be noticed

_To be heard._

But there was one he was worried about. Continually rocking back and forth, this trooper wearing the colours of the formidable Galactic Marines refused to eat. He had been pushed too far. Fox turned to Vail, "lieutenant, I want him on suicide watch."

"Affirmative sir."

Fox turned and watched as another group of medics arrived.

"This is a bloody jail, not a hospital!" He boomed causing the trolleys to stop dead in the corridor.

A soldier stepped out in front; a non clone wearing the new grey flannel of the Empire spoke condescendingly to the commander.

"Orders, Commander Fox, are orders. If you would like to take this up with Military High Command, I would be more than happy to accompany you down to HQ."

Fox moved swiftly, causing the young officer to take a step back when the more senior officer was within an inch of his face. "That won't be necessary, captain?"

"Harrigan, Captain Harrigan, sir."

Fox stepped aside with a sly smile and allowed them to pass. He then watched in horror as two from Bantha squad were pushed roughly into the holding cell, and the straw finally broke.

One had been kicked so hard in the groin he could barely walk, the torturous look of pain and fear written all over the gunners face.

Fox had to look away.

"_No brother deserves to be treated like this,"_ he was overheard to say as he marched back down to deliver another complaint to HQ, this time in person. On his way down to the barracks level, the elevator door opened and a soldier entered. With no markings Fox didn't know who he was, just one of thousands now seemingly all over Corsucant.

With a quick nod the soldier spoke, "Commander Fox."

He instantly knew this wasn't one of the new Sparti jobs. No, this man spoke with such familiarity and Fox was just in the mood. This was a Kamino clone, and Fox had him.

"What's your unit?" His tone was overly harsh.

"501st sir."

"You mean _Vader's First?_" He spat back vehemently.

The trooper stopped for a second and thought of the appropriate response, but Fox beat him to it.

"So you're one of the troopers responsible for getting stuck into the men before they get to me? Good. You can accompany me to HQ while I hand in this complaint!" He waved the flimsie in the troopers face. "What's your designation," he boomed, "or do you still have a name," then under his breath, "Vader's _fekking_ First indeed."

The trooper removed his helmet, "my name is Whisk, sir. And I agree wholeheartedly about the treatment regarding the captured men. As a medic, it goes against all my training," then he took the biggest gamble of his short life, "things would be different if the captain was around."

Fox locked eyes on the medic and Whisk waited for the retaliation. Whisk held his breath, he had just spoken out against his new commander.

Fox knew the 501st men, mostly the tattooed Jesse, and the ARC's after a night down on the lower levels, but he had never come across this medic before.

He waited for what seemed like minutes before he answered.

"I don't think even Rex could have stopped this. Come on," the door swished open and they walked out together.

"Is Appo ordering you to beat the soldiers," he softened a little.

"He suggests we _encourage_ them to come quietly, sir."

Fox slowed to a stop, "you're not afraid to rat out a commanding officer?"

"Not when I believe what he is doing is wrong, sir."

"It's an unwritten reg."

"Doesn't make it any more right."

Fox took in the soldier's appearance; unshaven and unkempt, he looked as tired and weary as he was from the mess they both found themselves in. He inadvertently crumpled the report in his left hand and Whisk could sense his frustration.

"Sir?"

Fox, lost in his thoughts, snapped back to his position and rank, "that'll be all, dismissed."

With a quick clip of his feet, Whisk stood to attention and nodded before he turned and headed back towards the elevator.

Fox remained standing in the corridor for another minute before he too, turned back towards the Senate building, the flimsie filled with angry words for his superiors could wait.

He now had a new mission, the one he thought he had put off until the time was right.

But the time would never be right, he understood that now.

Commander Fox went straight the Senate building to put his plan into action. Opening the door to her apartment, he was immediately struck by the relative quiet.

"Phina? Olphina, you here?" He checked each room, her clothes still hanging in the wardrobes, her perfume the only part of her lingering heavy in the room.

It was just that, she wasn't.

.


	18. Chapter 18

**Seventeen**

* * *

"Are we all clear on the plan?"

They were huddled around the fire as it began to burn low.

"Yes," Rex stated as he stood up and put his boot into the hearth.

It was 2200.

Piia was fast asleep, unaware of all the activity and planning that the three had meticulously put in place.

Over the past forty-eight hours, Ventress had been transferring supplies to her ship. Refuelled and only awaiting the coordinates to be plugged in, it was just a matter of getting on board and quietly taking off before hitting hyper drive once they were clear of Coruscants orbit.

"I don't like that Duros next door", Rex said as he pushed the small hessian curtain aside and peered into the darkness.

"Do you want me to kill him?" Ventress asked, mildly interested in something more substantial to do.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary," Ahsoka laughed. "But if I didn't know better Rex, I'd say you're more nervous that a shinie on his first hop."

Rex ignored the comment and slowly pulled on the hooded coat. Ahsoka had quietly gone about buying clothing for the rag tag group, which was fraught with difficulty considering collectively, they were three of the most highly conspicuous persons on Coruscant.

A clone, a Togrutan and a Darthomir Nightsister.

It didn't bare thinking.

Wrapping a scarf around the lower part of his face, Rex then jostled a small backpack over his shoulders and clipped it in place around his waist.

"Come on, let's just get this over and done with."

His mood had lifted slightly over the course of the week but Ahsoka knew he was just holding it together. Once away from the familiarity of Coruscant and the reality of life outside the army there would be another inevitable bought of depression.

Once the surge of adrenaline with making the decision to stand alone had worn off, the feeling of complete and utter loss would set in.

She had experienced it; Ahsoka knew what Rex was in for.

The only thing that had got Ahsoka through those initial, dark days was her training as a Jedi. The Force had guided her emotions, and when sense prevailed, she sought out Ventress.

It was ironic; that the faith she had learned from the people that had abandoned her was the one thing that had given her strength to be resourceful and strong.

She now knew of the struggle his wife had mentioned. The one she had been too proud to acknowledge the night she walked down those stairs alone. But the words that came from the Representative, along with the little leather pouch had rung true and led her back to the Jedi Library to find out more.

Ahsoka was compelled to research Gemma's mother, the more she read, the more she realised that there had been others disillusioned with the Jedi way.

If it hadn't been for her incessant curiosity, she would not have been there that night to save him.

It was defiantly a sign, one she had to act on and follow through.

Years of visions of her and Rex were confusing, and whilst she thought they were nothing more than romantic dreaming's of a scorned lover, she knew now that Yoda had been right all along.

"_Trust in the Force you must, only then, the truth you'll see,"_ he had said to her one day during meditation, when her thoughts had wandered and broken her concentration.

Frustrated she had gone to leave when the High Master had told her to sit and work through the premonition, and he had been right.

But how things had changed.

Ahsoka would have to draw upon her Faith like never before to get Rex through the harsh reality as a single parent.

And then there was Asajj. Ventress had proved herself to be most reliable in helping prove her innocence during her messy and somewhat lengthy, trial by the High Jedi Council. She enjoyed the acolyte's acerbic wit and together they had forged a true friendship. It was always the little Togrutan's most endearing quality; giving everyone the benefit of a second chance.

And now here was hers.

"_If Master could see me now_," she thought as she looked at the group assembled.

"Ventress, you leave first then Rex and I will follow at three minute intervals. Let me know if there is any Empire activity in the vicinity _en route_."

Ventress smiled, she liked the idea of sticking it up to the Empire in leaving undetected, but the thought of also knocking off a few more clones appealed to her _warped_ personality.

"Copy-_that_," she drawled, dripping with sarcasm as she shot a look over to the former military captain.

Ahsoka knew Rex was anxious to get off world. The concern for Piia's welfare bore down on his shoulders and he knew this was the final thing he had to do before he could allow himself to fully absorb his future.

One without his wife.

Ahsoka would constantly have to remind herself that he was dealing with a loss, and having lost him once before, she knew his heartbreak was ten fold compared to what she had experienced.

"Ventress _don't -_ " Ahsoka knew that the former dark acolyte enjoyed baiting Rex.

"Oh _al-right_,' she replied as she tucked her twin sabres under her dress, "I'll let you know if I find a sense of humour along the way."

She moved out into the night and they set their chrono's and waited for their mark, when the pesky neighbour Rex had been concerned about, popped his head into the hut.

"Need Bantha milk missus," he said holding a cup and scanning the room. Rex had well and truly had enough and pushed him hard up against the wall.

"Rex!" Ahsoka unintentionally let out as the alien's eyes popped in recognition.

"I know you! You on the holonet?" He managed to get out before she heard the sickening crack of his neck.

Ahsoka stood in silence as the humanoids Force signature abruptly left, and looked up at her captain with her mouth open in disbelief.

"He knew who I was," he stated matter of fact, "collateral damage," and with that Rex let him slip gently to the floor.

She shouldn't have been surprised.

She had trusted Rex with her life time and again and had seen him kill with his bare hands on more than one occasion, but _always_ for a cause.

This seemed wrong, but he was a wanted man and he had a responsibility to get away that night, before they were discovered.

"If a dumb Duros knew who I was, it would only be a matter of time before others did," he looked up at Ahsoka, feeling as though he had to justify his actions.

Ahsoka's chrono broke the uncomfortable silence.

They had just had their first variation.

"OK, you're up," she said as Rex moved over to pick up his daughter.

"See you at the RV commander."

It appeared you could take the man out of the military, but not the military out of the man.

.

"Echo, could you take Marlo's push chair with you, I think Stoyan is getting a little tired."

Echo looked up from his data pad and smiled. Seeing Stoyan outside walking was a vast improvement. The former Jedi had challenged himself daily and it appeared that the birth of their daughter was just what was needed to spur him forward.

_Marlo._

She had been born on the kitchen floor, coming too quickly for Echo to get Freya to the delivery suite of the local hospital. Like a true ARC, Echo had stepped up and at precisely 0853 little Marlo entered the world.

There was no choice about the name.

Freya knew all about the doctor who had saved Echo's life, keeping him hidden and repairing his damaged legs.

It went both ways; the former ARC had reciprocated, getting her off the Citadel and even though she had succumbed to her injuries sustained during their crash landing on Scillal, she died a free woman.

Her debt had been repaid and now her memory had been honoured.

"Here you go _buir_," he said as he pushed the chair up to Stoyan, "I'll take her from here."

Stoyan handed over the small bundle of pink and watched as Echo placed her gently into the bassinette and took in a deep breath.

"Tings changing. You need to be care-ful." Stoyan still had problems with the pronunciation of certain words and coupled with the limp, they were the only reminder of the stroke.

For the first time in a long time he had allowed the Force to help; returned to the curse that had seen him devoid of a family up until now.

Meeting Echo had certainly saved Stoyan's life and he was the most content, even if mildly disabled, he had ever been.

However with the return to his religion came the increased Force sensing ability. Stoyan was well aware that a dark cloud had fallen over the once powerful Jedi Order and that Echo especially, as a former special operations officer, needed to be more alert than ever.

"Relax _buir_, if I'm not worried, neither should you be."

They would be words that would come back to haunt him.

.

"Good morning gentlemen. Please come in." The head of the Scillal shipyards quickly moved some manuals aside and offered the two Empire officers a seat. He had been excited ever since the communiqué from Coruscant had come through.

With their crisp grey uniforms, they cut a figure of military precision, their caps neatly tucked under their left arms.

The newly formed Empire was requiring another four destroyers to add to their existing fleet of older model star ships.

During the Clone Wars he knew they had been making crafts for both the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He didn't care which side was doing the ordering, as long as the credits kept rolling in, and with the advent of his new managerial team, they had succeeded in meeting the requirements of which ever government was doing the buying.

"Thank you for making yourself available on such short notice. We understand that you have looked through the proposal and feel confident that you can meet the orders expectations?"

"Yes, indeed I do. I am sorry to say that the person in charge of productivity is apparently running a little late. Rather unlike him I'm afraid," he said looking at his chrono, "he's usually very reliable. Not to worry, we can continue until he arrives."

As they went through the logistics of production and anticipated delivery time, Echo hid behind a hyperdrive infold and continued to watch in horror.

He had been busy greeting fellow workers when his attention was drawn to the men standing behind the transparent glass.

"Heads up Echo, there's our new contract walking into the bosses office."

He knew instantly who they were and he felt like he was going to lose his breakfast. The Empire had appointed non-clones into positions of military power, putting the once efficient, _manufactured_ soldiers lower down the pecking order.

"_Fek!"_

A new contract meant millions of credits, job security and a hefty bonus if they finished in time.

Echo knew they could do it easily, even orchestrating a production drama as a way to screw a greater incentive from the Empire if they finished on time.

But as he watched the two talking, he knew Stoyan had been right.

He had to be careful, and with a face like a million others, a decision now had to be made.

Echo slunk back out of the factory and jumped on his speeder, flicking it into gear quickly and tore off home.

Maybe it was time to move on, but after this _one job_, they would finally be financially free to live anywhere in the Universe without the need to ever work again.

A hobby farm, that's what he wanted. It would be great for the kids and a simple life after everything they had been through was just what he craved.

All he needed to do was finish this last job. He knew once the order was placed it would be last time they would see anyone until it was completed.

One more and then he would quit.

He was better than the two men sitting in that office, all scrawny and pale in their fancy uniforms.

His training had been better than any they would have endured.

_He could do this._

He was an ARC, after all.

.


	19. Chapter 19

**Eighteen**

* * *

While Ahsoka waited her mark, she used the time to take one final look around the small shanty.

Together, she and Ventress had made a home of sorts, although the sight of the dead Duros slumped on the floor changed everything.

They now had to make this escape work; they had no home to come back to if it didn't.

With a small beep, she headed out into the night, three minutes behind Rex and Piia.

And a new life.

Delicately side stepping vagrants, Ahsoka followed the route she committed to memory until the moment her blood ran cold.

It was a moment of _déjà vu._

Caught completely unaware, she closed her luminescent blue eyes and refocussed.

"Commander Tano!"

There was no denying it.

They had been found.

.

Rex knew he should have placed the pack under his coat and now, clutching Piia close to his chest, the uncomfortable feeling of the bag slipping off the heavy woollen shoulders made him stop and berate himself.

"Stupid _di'kut_," he mumbled as he placed the swaddled baby down.

He should have known better.

He was wasting precious time. He'd been in situations in the past where he had been more than uncomfortable during a mission. From his icy incarceration on Orto Plutonia to the dry heat of Geonosis, injured, insurmountable odds, he'd experienced them all.

But nothing compared to this.

Never before did it involve _his_ child.

The stakes were higher.

He couldn't throw himself into reckless abandon and risk himself like he had done in the past. There were no bacta tanks where he was going and he had a bigger responsibility than that of his unit. He knew the men would push themselves physically, but Piia couldn't; she relied on him totally to keep her safe.

That's when he heard it.

The voice from his past raising the alarm.

Rex ditched the pack altogether as he scooped his daughter back up and made a run for it.

He knew Ahsoka could look after herself and he was no use to anyone dead.

.

"_Men, over here, 3 o'clock, repeat, 3 o'clock."_

"_It's a Jedi!"_

"_Watch your six, watch your –ah - "_

It was hardly the battle she was used to.

Ahsoka had the advantage of knowing exactly how each and every one of these men had been trained.

She had watched and learned from the best.

Rex had made sure she was aware of the fundamentals of their original training back on Kamino, and then some of the more advanced skills of the ARC's. He always said it would make her an integral part of the unit.

It had served her well during the war, and would be even more valuable to her now.

There were no more than twenty men. She had to give them credit; they were making a decent fight of it.

Ahsoka could tell they wanted her alive and that their weapons were even more deadly to her set at stun.

One shot, and she would be more immobile that a blaster burn to any part of her body. They aimed at her legs so she kept moving, jumping and flipping over the tops of the shipment crates and fuel containers.

Rex's last words kept reverberating through her mind.

_Collateral damage,_ as she effortlessly sliced one trooper that had regrettably got too close.

He fell back powerless and she knew the strike had been lethal.

A man quickly sprung as if from nowhere and crouched down low; he would be a medic, as another moved forward to protect the two on the ground.

A pang of melancholy tugged at her heart.

She missed the men and being part of the fold they had allowed her to join.

The reverie after a battle, the familiarity that only comes when you have been placed in a life and death situation.

But this was no time for a journey down memory lane.

Those times had well and truly gone and she was now the one on the outer, the one they were trying to capture.

Slamming up against a wall she quickly checked her chrono and smiled. Rex was right about that Duros all along, and she had less than five standard to get to the RV before Ventress would take off without her on board.

Ahsoka took a deep breath before she sprung back into the fray, leading the men away from the craft, buying Rex more time to get on board safely.

She would make the rendezvous easily.

.

Rex was heaving from lack of fitness as he tried to inconspicuously move around in the shadows, but a bad turn into a warehouse led him to a dead end.

He kept hearing the men coming; their footsteps running in pairs as they searched the buildings for anyone escaping.

Then the sound of the warehouse door sliding open.

Rex closed his eyes and focussed on the trooper's boots on the durocrete floor. Then he smiled as he opened them.

One trooper, who was either stupid or overly confident.

Either way, he was dead.

Looking down into the huge brown eyes staring trustingly back at him Rex knew what he had to do. He would kill a brother to keep his daughter safe. Flicking the safety lock off the one hand blaster at his hip he fortified himself, hoping he was wasn't signing both their death warrants as he stepped out from the shadows.

The trooper swung around and raised his weapon to fire.

"I am unarmed," he lied, the rich tone of his voice breaking the night silence. His left hand clutched Piia to his chest as he raised the right slowly.

The soldier said nothing as he moved forward and pushed the pair back in behind the crates.

"Rex? Is that you?" he said while quickly removing his helmet.

A sound thick with emotion escaped the former captains throat as he recognised the trooper.

"Coric."

The seasoned medic beamed, "unarmed my _shebs_. Look, I haven't got time, stay hidden and I'll lead the main group away."

Rex stood there dumbfounded, before he shot out his right arm and grabbed at Coric's vambrance. He was instantly struck at how thick the new armour was. Still bewildered he looked up at his old friend before he trusted his voice to speak.

"Come with me. Leave now. _With us,"_ he implored.

"I have Whisk and Didge to consider sir. We will. Just not now."

"Who's left?" Rex couldn't help himself, even though he had swore he was finished with the Republic, this may be his last chance to find out who, if any of his old squad remained.

"Chopper. Cody's back from Upatau. They didn't get Kenobi. Sats. Most of Torrent. Fox is still down the dungeons. Appo has made commander, the_ hutuun_ and rumour has it that Wolffe is a-wol."

Rex smiled at the mention of the flight commander disappearing, _'so he had the balls to get away.'_

Then Coric lowered his voice to a whisper, "everyone has changed Rex. We think it has something to do with that vaccine, you know the one they gave us just after Tup and Fives bought it? Everyone acts like nothing has happened. It's weird. It's the only plausible explanation."

"We?"

"Didge, Whisk, Chop. It's too hard to delve any further. There may be more, there _must be_. We are on daily patrols looking for POI's and a-wol men. We bring in at least 3 a week. It's awful, Appo has us knocking them around but I make sure nothing sticks." Then he stood taller than Rex, "we aimed high that night sir."

Rex understood.

Coric was a good man, a _true brother_ and he was glad the younger men had someone to lead them out.

When the time was right.

Rex slowly moved Coric's hand up to his chest and tapped it slightly.

"Check my medical records, I believe it's under _distinguishable features. _Understand? It's there and when you're ready to leave, only then, look it up and you'll be safe."

Coric's eyes were shining. Finally, _finally _he had been vindicated. Knowledge was powerful and the fact that Rex was alive was just the incentive he needed to keep going.

"Copy that sir."

They both swung around as they heard men yelling and firing weapons.

And then the tell tale sound of the light sabre being used.

"Ahsoka?'

"Keep your head low," Rex replied with a crocked smile.

"You better go sir, and one day, you can tell me all about this little person," he said looking at the infant in his arms.

"It would be a pleasure, my friend," and with that, Rex folded anonymously back into the night with his daughter hidden under the large coat.

Coric stood for a second before he placed his helmet back on to cover the smile that would remain for days.

.

Rex darted between the crates and containers for shipping, constantly weaving his way towards the ship.

He was aware of the green hue and the sound of Ahsoka leaping on top of the large freighters making her way too, and giving him precious time to get there ahead of her.

Ventress sat back in the cockpit, mortified that she was only a bystander in the little skirmish, and had the ship ready to lift off the second their feet hit the ramp. She saw Rex hiding behind one large container readying himself for the last dash.

"Move your fancy arse captain or we'll all be dead," she said aloud in the cockpit.

Quickly scanning his immediate vicinity, she watched as he made a run for it. Blaster fire followed from behind and Rex was relieved only when his boot touched the metal ramp and heard the voice coming in fast.

"Right behind you big guy," Ahsoka said and he knew she would be smiling from the victory of beating the men to the ship

"Don't be so cock sure," Ventress yelled as the ship lurched upwards, "I have four incoming on my radar. Seems like you two can't do anything without an audience."

"You always seemed to manage perfectly well in the past witch." Rex was strapping Piia into the make shift bassinette. He had fashioned a disused metal drum into a reasonable child restraint, using old speeder seat belts as anchors.

"The coordinates would be nice whenever you feel so inclined."

Rex then spoke clearly and with authority.

"P-13. 7,3,9."

Ventress looked up in front of her to see the Y wings coming in low.

"Move aside boys, this is how a pro does it," she said as she hit the numbers and pulled up in a vertical lift. The four sped past her, their shots hitting one of the fuel containers, sending flames and fuel high into the air.

"Hold on, making the jump."

"You're too tight, you'll kill us all," Rex bellowed as the gravity forced him back into his seat.

Ventress was silent as she moved forward and flipped the plastic cover and hit the switch.

"_No!" _

Then the engine stalled and they all held their breath as it struggled to regain power and restart. It appeared as if time stood still while the hyper drive screamed, the noise deafening before it finally engaged and sucked them into darkness.

.


	20. Chapter 20

**Nineteen**

* * *

Didge looked over at Whisk.

He wasn't faring so well in the new Republic. Wane from worry and unkempt, he knew it would only be a matter of time before the medic would completely lose it.

"You doing alright brother?"

Whisk just nodded, working on cleaning his deece after another night raid down on the lower levels, searching, and more often than not, finding men that had deserted the ranks of the new Empire.

It had been a harder than usual night.

The sighting of high Jedi Ahsoka Tano had brought back a multitude of memories, making their present even harder to bear.

It was a reminder of how things used to be.

Once bred to protect the innocent and the ideal of the Jedi, now they were detested amongst their own.

Whisk had seen it; the look of disgust on the pair from Bantha they had found cowering under a sewage outlet on level 14.

"Is this what its come to?" His eyes wild with anger, "_is this all we are good for?_ Hunting out our own under a pile of _osik_?"

"Shut up will _ya_? You don't want them hearing you talk like that, or they'll send _you_ straight down to Fox!" Didge was horrified with his brother's lack of self-restraint.

Didge was doing remarkable well, considering.

Someone had to.

He had been pulled from sniper duty and was on regular patrols with Vader's First, and had stepped up when he could see how hard his brother was travelling.

The sound and halo from the green twin light sabres had effected them all differently, but none more so that the team medic. He seemed genuinely distressed and was thrown into a deeper level of despair.

It wasn't always that way.

Whisk used to be the optimist, and kept their little unit tight.

He knew that Sats, not having a speciality would be the one more likely to be deployed to another unit once leaving Kamino.

So he made a pact.

To keep his brothers close.

They spent every spare second honing their unique bond. If they were invincible in the training sims, maybe they could convince the senior officers that they should stay together.

And they were doing just fine until Rex came along and split them up.

_Fekking Rex._

Whisk had worked through the initial disappointment of Sats being sent off to the 212th, which in hindsight seemed like a good fit for the baby of the group. Hatched last, Sats was always going to be nursed like a baby nuna by his other, _more established_, brothers.

Didge on the other hand was a different kettle of fish.

How Whisk managed to hide his obsessive compulsive disorder was nothing short of a miracle.

And Didge knew it.

Whisk trained the sniper beautifully under the guise of getting his magical fingers to pull apart a deece faster than any other soldier in the GAR. He would spend hours coaching him, getting him to work through his built up nervous energy stripping down and reassembling any weapon he could lay his hands on.

And all the hard work paid off.

They now found themselves in an enviable position; a time of peace.

With no obvious war whirring around them, they were soldiers of the galaxy, maintaining and enforcing the new Empire.

If he thought about it too much, the headache would return, so he didn't.

Whisk threw the jar of lubricant back into his footlocker and slammed the lid shut.

Didge looked up and swung his head in disdain. It was becoming tedious; making sure Whisk didn't spill his guts.

"_Argh, come on!_ Grab a shower and we'll hit the Mess."

"Not hungry."

"Well, you have to get clean," he was slowly losing his patience with Whisk. What Didge wanted more than anything was for him to snap back out of his lull and get on with it.

So he could return to being the needy one.

Keeping an eye on Whisk was exhausting work.

With Sats thumping around the barracks with other 212th imbeciles and newly imported Sparti clones, Didge had never felt more alone. The sage one, the medic, the one that had pulled him together, was fraying around the ends.

Trudging off to the refreshers the water seemed to lift Whisk's mood slightly, but it all went south when they swung around the corner and back into their room.

"That would have to be a longer than allocated shower trooper?" Chopper said slowly as he watched Whisk hang his towel over the bunk railing.

They both stared at one another before Didge sat his kit down on the bed.

"We're all good here, right?"

Chopper's mouth turned up in a menacing smile. He always made Didge feel nervous, and the thought of payback from the time they bet against him in the Mess was always a possibility.

"Are your buckets turned off?"

"Of course they are!" Whisk was annoyed at the intrusion.

"Sit."

"Hey listen, you just can't come in here and order us around!" Whisk stood firm. He'd had enough for the night and even the menacing sight of Chopper wouldn't make him back down.

"Sit."

They obediently did as ordered. Chopper couldn't help but laugh at the earnest expression on both their faces.

"_Osik,_ you two really are green."

"_Fek_ off," Didge hissed back.

"Take it easy," Coric said as he appeared as if from nowhere.

"Sir," the two stood again before he waved them back down.

"Here," he said as he slowly handed them a note, "read it once and say nothing, _you understand?_" He locked eyes on both of them but it was the other medic who snatched the material from his hand.

"We're not _di'kuts_!" Whisk couldn't help himself and Coric second guessed himself.

_Was he doing the right thing bringing them in early?_

Whisk seemed more angry than usual and _everything_ relied on these two keeping their traps shut.

The pair then opened the flimsie and read what had been hastily written.

_Rex is alive._

Didge looked sceptically at both Chopper and Coric, thinking it was some sort of prank at their expense, but remained silent.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Whisk couldn't help himself.

Coric looked at the young troopers. They looked like the day they arrived with the regulation hair cut, no tattoos or makings of any sort, they hadn't had time to be more inventive with their appearance before everything changed.

"Where?" Whisk handed the flimsie to Didge who opened it and read it again.

"Down the lower levels. You two were off with Appo chasing Ahsoka."

"You mean when that Jedi sliced open Crutch?" Whisk had been the medic who called another brothers time of death. He was beginning to lose all patience with the Jedi, and was mildly pleased they were hunting them out.

"What's going on in here?" It was Appo.

Didge moved the flimsie up to his mouth with lightening speed and began chewing frantically. Chopper couldn't help but stifle back a laugh.

Appo swung around at the sound, "you again?" He said looking at Chopper, "don't you lot have anywhere else to be?"

"Sir, no sir," Chopper said standing to attention. The one thing about his motley appearance was that he stood out. Appo remembered the scarred face of the seasoned trooper. He was mildly suspicious of Chopper, and seeing him fraternise with his own men, made him even more so.

"You laughing at me soldier?"

"Me sir. No sir."

"You'd be laughing all the way to the Brigg if I had my way! I think it's high time Commander Cody is made aware of your mischievous behaviour. Move it trooper. Now!"

"Yes sir," he replied dead-pan. Just knowing he had pissed off Appo was enough to make him feel satisfied. Cody wouldn't think anything more of Chopper being in the 501st barracks.

The others looked on, their eyes wide with information they knew Appo would kill for.

There was nothing like it.

They all watched as the commander marched Chopper down the length of the corridor. Appo was barking out orders as Chopper held up his middle finger in defiance behind the new commanders back.

The three laughed heartily as they disappeared around a corridor before the emotion caught them all and they clung together in brotherhood.

Coric whispered in their ears as he held them tight.

"I'll get you both out. I promise. Rex told me where. We just have to put a plan together and wait until the time is right. You in?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

Coric stood back and slapped their backs hard. "Good men."

The two stood motionless as the lieutenant left their quarters, Didge breaking the thick silence, "what about Sats?"

"Yeah, what about Sats?"

.


	21. Chapter 21

**Twenty**

* * *

"Get out of my way."

"Sir."

Men parted as the red armour stormed through the building to the main Guard station in the Senate accommodation Tower Two.

"I need all flight manifests in and out over the past twelve hours," Fox barked the order so loud that Vail flinched.

The commander shoved another trooper aside as his fingers began tapping frantically at the keyboard, scrolling and flicking from one screen to the next.

"Who are you looking for Sir?"

No answer.

"Sir, it would be a help if we knew exactly what - "

"_WILL YOU JUST DO AS YOU WERE ORDERED LIEUTENANT!"_

Vail looked down, his face flushed from the overly harsh tone of his commanding officer.

"Nothing. _Nothing!" _ Fox pushed the keyboard forward in disgust, " Okay, raise the alarm."

"What?"

"_IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR HEARING ALL OF A SUDDEN? RAISE THE ALARM!" _

Vail sat in his chair and swivelled to the other side of the desk. Waking up the computer he began to log the procedure sequence.

"Alarm designation sir."

"Code 19."

Vail's fingers stopped typing and Fox stood silent behind him.

Waiting.

This could cost him everything, but he was willing to put it all on the line.

For her.

"One of our politicians has been compromised," he said quietly, mentally running through the scenario once the code had been activated.

"I need to record which one sir," Vail was methodical.

Never before had a Code 19 been called and it was his career disappearing in vapours as well if they got it wrong.

Fox was the only one who could order a complete shut down of the Senate buildings which included the two towers of accommodation, all meeting rooms, offices and the entire Imperial Military High Command.

"Sir?"

He looked to the commander for the name that was about to wreak chaos in the centre of the core world.

Fox cleared his throat and stood straight.

"Senator Carr from Oriis."

Vail sat motionless, frozen by what Fox had just said.

He knew of their elicit relationship and knew that Fox would be hauled over the coals by the brass for putting in place an order from which there would be **no going back** once implemented.

He also knew the sequelae of events.

ICSU would be deployed and would conduct a full search of the facility.

All units would be assigned to barracks.

Both inbound and outbound air traffic would be halted. The Senate buildings would be inaccessible once the doors were shut. Everyone would have to be accounted for, in triplicate, before the all clear could be given.

Coruscant in effect would be closed down.

Vail stood and looked at Fox. He looked old and tired.

The past six weeks had been tedious and the mental exhaustion was beginning to show

But never once did he falter.

Not once did Fox miss a shift or meeting.

He was working long hours, keeping both sides of his command under control. The politicians were stressful enough at the best of times, and he had his hands full down in lock up with the deserting troopers.

Now Olphina, his beloved Olphina, was missing.

He had noticed it over the past week and a half – nothing extraordinary, just snippets of gossip, dignitaries holding longer than usual meetings, groups huddled and whispering in corridors.

Not that it mattered.

No one would dare voice their opinion against the newly appointed Emperor.

"Sir, please. Let me take a unit and do one last run through? You need to be 100% on this one. _Sir_," he stressed.

Fox turned to Vail.

"I've been everywhere," he said meeting Vail's gaze. "She had a meeting with the Emperor yesterday and I," he knew once he said it, he was verbalising all his fears, "_I just can't find her_."

"Do you think it has something to do with Representative Gem leaving?"

"No. _Yes,_ I don't know!"

Fox rubbed his hand across his face. "I don't know what to think. She was frightened, that much I do know."

"There's been rumours circulating that Oriis, along a couple of other systems are required to put more credits in if they are to stay under the arm of the Empire. Let me grab some men, let me do one last check? You can't risk your career over a - "_,_ he wanted to say _'a woman,'_ but stopped himself going any further.

Fox knew exactly what his 2IC meant.

Yes he was in a relationship with a woman. Yes, she could have just decided to leave Coruscant.

But she hadn't.

He knew her better than that.

She had gone to a meeting with Palpatine and never came back.

He had spent the night looking, ducking in and out of her apartment; walking the route to the Emperors office over and again, checking every room along the way. He even went so far as to check every amenity, male _and female._

He had thought the worse.

"You don't get it do you?"

Fox looked intimidating. He hadn't shaved and a beard was creeping through. Vail could see that he was genuine in his concern over the Senator, irrespective of his relationship with her. He could tell that Fox would have thought through every possible scenario before he got to this point.

This wasn't an emotional decision.

He wasn't that kind of officer.

"Sir?"

"I know what you're thinking. She's not just a woman Vail. She is an elected representative of her people that _we_ are charged with keeping safe. The laws that these people put in place govern us. Without them, there would be no democracy, only a dictatorship. It's our job to look after them so they can look after us, no matter what."

Vail didn't say anything but turned and depressed the relevant alarm code.

The acoustic claxon sounded and doors began sliding and locking into place.

"Come what may sir, I'm with you."

"You might regret saying that," Fox said as he watched the computer work through the lock down sequence.

.

"What in the Nine Corellian Hells is going on over there?"

Niner saw the alarm flash on the board in alpha barracks. The commandos were privy to all top level security breeches.

The were in the rec room.

No deployment since O66, they were getting restless with constant meetings and rumours about their position within the Empire.

They had kept their old armour; the dents now a symbol of elitism. Not that they fraternised with the meat cans.

They kept to themselves, they knew better than to antagonise a brother about the past.

"Some fancy pants Senator probably got locked in the refresher." Scorch said as he continued playing solitaire, flipping the colourful cards over one at a time.

Niner laughed as he swilled the remnants of his _caf_. He been given the green light to return to active service, his spine now fully recovered after a gruelling regime of physiotherapy. Swimming every day twice a day, walking for hours in the infamous tunnel and pushing the weights. He was glad of something to occupy his time, his determination to regain his fitness paramount; he simply had to get back.

There was someone he needed to be there for.

Darman.

He sat quietly on his own and said nothing as the alarm continued to flash.

"ICSU, you're up," the quartermaster stated as he did a walk through the common room.

Fixer popped his head around behind the QM. "Pollie patrol boys."

"Better than frying one of our own," Scotch said as he stacked the cards back into a neat pile and stood from the table, "let's get this over and done with. You two in?"

"Yeah," Niner said, glad that he had something to do other than watch the controlled propaganda on the holonet.

.

"What we got?"

Vail swung around and stood as the four commandos lumbered into view.

"Sir, ICSU are here."

Fox nodded and stood forward.

"Code 19."

"Which one?"

"Oriis."

Niner suddenly became interested.

"Senator Olphina Carr. Missing since 0800 yesterday."

"Why didn't someone raise the alarm earlier?" Niner flicked through an image of the woman they were now charged with finding.

"Protocol. We have to wait approximately 12 hours before we can call it."

"Last known whereabouts?"

"Emperor Palpatine's office."

No one said a word.

Niner took charge of the group, "Dar you start over there. Scorch T1, Fixer here, usual drill."

"Copy that sarge."

Niner watched as the men went off in different directions. They would do a sweep of each apartment and continue on, floor by floor until it was done.

It was just another job for them. Either they would find her.

Or not.

.

"Sir, could you direct me to her apartment?"

Niner followed Commander Fox in silence.

He was instantly struck with how familiar the commander was at opening the apartment and switching on the lights.

It didn't take him long to put two and two together.

The next two standard hours, the commando squad diligently went about searching the Senate building, fielding angry questions from disgruntled politicians.

Then the call everyone was waiting for.

"Sarge, I've got her. Repeat, I've got her."

Fox found it hard to stand aside while the commandos finished what he started.

It would be hours before he would know of her injuries. Ordered to High Command to sit in on the lengthy process of interviews with the heads of the military, all the time itching to get to her.

And when he did, she would be closed off and emotionally numb. It was her front line defence against her overwhelming reality.

The one she could never tell him.

The truth.

.


	22. Chapter 22

**Twenty One**

* * *

They had arrived at the beach.

_**There it was, as if it were yesterday.**_

The sand was an unusual bright orange. She had heard all about it as a child.

Her father would show her pictures and talk about the miraculous qualities of the water on Kayl. She thought it a fancy, but now, seeing it in person, she knew the stories to be true.

The late afternoon sun glistened on the surface of the water, and as small waves lapped the shore line, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

Gemma closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

Slowly she walked towards the edge, Jesse following one step behind.

She knew what she had to do.

She was resolved.

Gem had got him to a safe place. There were enough credits for him to make a start somewhere, and being the type of man he was, she knew he would.

Her job here was done.

_**Rex was surprised at how it had survived the years. **_

_**Overgrown with the lush vegetation, the craft sat silent.**_

_**Waiting. **_

_**The crimson lines were just visible under dense, green foliage that covered the now hidden entrance.**_

_**Nothing had been touched, and a moment of melancholy overwhelmed him.**_

_**Through another twist of fate and Ventress' wide flying, they had arrived safely.**_

_**It was nothing short of a miracle.**_

_**The numbers tattooed on his chest once as a testament to love, had delivered him yet again. **_

Gemma smiled and turned, "beautiful, isn't it?

And it was.

Jesse didn't waste any time. With a smile ear to ear he began to strip down, taking off his shirt and pants placing them in a pile on the coloured sand.

Clad in his shorts, the only remnant of his previous life, he walked straight into the water where he sunk just below the surface, and revelled in it's warmth.

There, he swam, one perfect stroke after another. Gem watched and for the first time, didn't fight the black dog nipping at her heels.

It was time.

Fortune had smiled on her in getting him this far.

_**Rex swung the pack off his shoulders and moved towards the old hatch.**_

_**It was just as they left it. **_

_**Ripping and tearing at the vines with his bare hands, he worked through the uncomfortable sensation of blood trickling down his fingers.**_

_**He couldn't wait to get inside and see.**_

_**The morbid curiosity in the familiar.**_

_**But he stopped cold when he heard the sound from behind. **_

_**Startled, he looked in horror as Ventress stood there, both red sabres aglow.**_

"_**Thought you could do with some help," she replied raising an eyebrow.**_

_**Instead of the usual snide reply he just stood aside and allowed her.**_

_**After all, it would be her home for the interim as well.**_

When Jesse resurfaced he looked around for Gem. Sniffing away the salt water he made his way back to the shore, constantly scanning the beach for his companion.

He moved fast, something was wrong.

Her bags were there.

The panic began to rise as he waited for the water to break. Squinting against the sun setting in his eyes, he saw her hair resting on the surface like an oil slick.

There was no point yelling.

Jesse ran full pelt back into the water grabbing at the tendrils and heaving her limp body back to the surface.

That's when his training, or some other force, kicked in.

_**Rex walked through the old hull. **_

_**This was where it all started. **_

_**An innocuous plant that they never found had led him to her and a journey that he would be forever grateful of.**_

_**He smiled as he ran his hand along the crate, the one with the black Death Watch symbol burnt into the grain.**_

_**He moved into the area that she had designated for herself, and stood silent at the items that had been left behind in her haste. **_

_**A small piece of fabric, a hair comb, nothing valuable, but to him they were priceless. **_

_**They were the only things of hers that remained.**_

_**They were tokins of another time, one when he thought he was invincible and could live forever.**_

"_**Rex, Rex are you in here, oh," she stammered, "I'm sorry."**_

"_**I'll take the aft for Piia and myself. You and Ventress can fight out your area between you."**_

"_**That's fine Rex. Ventress is feeding Piia. Are you," she chose her words wisely, "what I mean to say is, this was a good idea right, I mean coming back here?"**_

_**Rex blew out a breath as he held the broken comb, his finger running back and forth over the teeth.**_

"_**I don't know what the right thing is anymore 'Soka." Rex placed the comb in his pocket and moved forward to leave when Ahsoka pressed a hand against his shoulder. He didn't dare look her in the eye, keeping his gaze fixed on the delicate, gloved fingers. **_

_**He felt it; the warmth radiate from her hand into his chest.**_

"_**Rex," she whispered, "let me help."**_

_**He shrugged her hand away and they stood looking into each others eyes until he dared speak.**_

"_**I appreciate you wanting to help, but taking away the pain would be worse right now. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the hurt, in here, is the only reminder I have for myself."**_

_**Ahsoka looked down embarrassed and nodded. The Jedi believed in healing the soul as well as physical pain. She now felt silly offering something before Rex was ready for it. **_

"_**The Jedi have a saying Rex, that if one is chosen young, they are needed for a higher purpose."**_

_**Rex retaliated instinctively, without checking his tone.**_

"_**You can philosophise all you like Ahsoka. No God, good or bad needs Gem more than her daughter. No. It was an act of pure evil with no greater purpose than to destroy that took her that night. Nothing more."**_

_**Rex could see the disappointment cross her face and continued, quickly changing the subject, "this will be a good stop. We'll wait a month for things to settle down, then make the move to Oriis."**_

"_**Do you really think we'll make it there?"**_

"_**Absolutely," he straightened a bit and sounded a little more in control, "we've managed to miss the Republic," he stopped, "what I meant to say is the Empire's trade routes. Not that it matters now."**_

_**He was right. Now that the Empire had shown it's face, both the old Confederacy of Independent Systems and Republic routes would be under Darth Sideous' complete control.**_

_**Ahsoka stewed on his words for the rest of the day. **_

_**The soldiers always did have a brutally honest way of looking at life. **_

_**None believed in the here after or any special God. She wasn't even sure if they believed in the Force. She had heard them snigger and make jokes about the Jedi when they thought she wasn't listening. They had their own code, and together they would fight like one. There was no need to rely on something invisible to guide you when a brother had your back.**_

_**Trust.**_

_**That was their religion. **_

Jesse sat back on his haunches and waited for her to regain her breath fully.

Holding his throat he whispered, "what the _fek _was that?"

Gem glared at him as she rolled over and closed her eyes.

He had ruined everything.

Jesse wasn't about to let it go, pulling her back to face him.

She looked at the water dripping off his nose.

Minus the tattoo, Jesse was just like Rex.

She shook her head and replied, "I'm sorry."

She had been wrong in trying to escape.

What sort of punishment was death anyway?

No, her torment would be living a life without two of the most important people in it.

It would be a reminder of the mistake she alone made.

Gem spat out the remainder of the salty water and stood shakily.

"I'm alright," she said hastily as she grabbed a handful of sand. She would place small amounts of it in her wound, antagonising it further and preventing it from fully healing.

The scar along with every God forsaken breath she took would be her penance, her constant reminder of the night everything was taken from her.

"Come on, get dressed. We need to find somewhere to sleep."

.


	23. Chapter 23

**Twenty Two**

* * *

_You and me were always with each other_

_Before we knew the other was ever there_

_You and me, we belong together_

_Just like a breath needs the air_

Echo studied the manifest and began to make the modifications.

He was calculated and ruthless.

The Empire's new battle ships would be in service for approximately five months before the main hyper drive would fail, and with it, set in play a series of catastrophic on board events.

He sat back satisfied.

There was no one at the shipyards that would even pick up the error code; no one with the knowledge and experience who could reprogram the ships main computers like him.

A smile crept across his face as he silently watched the hologram map swirl in front of him.

_Fives would've loved this._

And he was right.

Fives was always at his happiest undermining the enemy.

Now the tables had turned.

Even though Echo had finished with the army, the feeling of _sticking it_ to the very people that left him for dead had never left the former special operations officer.

_I was an ARC for feks sake!_

The Republic had invested time and credits in his training.

_They should have known better than to leave me behind on Lola Sayu. They should have known I could have survived a blast like that!_

He remembered it as if it were yesterday.

Heading into the Hanger Bay, the small group led by Kenobi had everyone accounted for, all they had to do was disable the canons and make a run for the ship. Once inside Fives and Echo would have split and manned the two forward guns, pulverising anything that stood in their way.

That's how he planned it in his head.

Echo may have held a grudge against his former commission, but it was the cold reality he couldn't come to grips with.

_He only had himself to blame._

_He was_ the reason the mission had been put in jeopardy and _he alone_ was responsible for his injuries.

Not his brothers.

Not Fives or his generals.

Echo squeezed his eyes tight as his mind played the usual trick whenever he allowed it to wander off course.

"_Echo, no! Echo! E-C-H-O-!"_

It was Fives' voice yelling from behind, _his own_ voice shouting out over the laser fire calling him back.

It wasn't like he wanted to be the hero, he just knew that someone had to lead that gun away from the ships ramp, and the Jedi were doing an _osik_ job of it up to that point.

The truth be told, after being frozen in carbonite, passing undiscovered by the life form detectors, landing in the damn place and obtaining the midget Piell and the ungrateful _shabuir_ Tarkin, Echo had simply had enough and wanted to go home. But moreover, he was most annoyed that Ahsoka had disobeyed all orders and found her way on board.

This was the mission's first variation, and Echo detested variations.

He didn't mince his words when he let his oldest friend know via a closed comm message exactly how he felt.

"What the _fek_ is she doing here?"

"Easy _ner vod_," Fives replied, "you never know, she might come in handy." Fives wasn't worried about the surprise inclusion of Commander Tano.

"What hope have we got if a _fekking_ Jedi can't follow a simple order?"

"Let it go brother. Eyes on the prize remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, eyes on the prize_._"

He had more reason than anyone else that day to play it by the book.

To make it back.

But now, it didn't matter that he hadn't managed to disable that pulse canon, all the events from that day led him to where he was now.

And it wasn't such a bad place to be.

Sitting in his office in the Scillal shipyards working on how he could wreak havoc on the new Empire.

He felt nothing for the men that would be blown to smithereens in the ensuing blast.

They weren't his true brothers.

Not any more.

He had showed little to no interest about what was happening on Coruscant. The job however, was important to him. It kept his mind active, and he knew he was good at it; reading the manuals and implementing systems in which an entire battle ship could be built. He had friends, well, men that looked to him for guidance. They were a good team, and although they were not as disciplined as a clone they could work hard when pushed or given the right incentive.

But what he loved more than the job was his family. They always brought a smile to his face, even after pulling a fourteen hour shift, nothing could dampen his enthusiasm the second his foot hit the verandah.

Marek would blast through the door like a Murlak pup, followed closely by Stoyan to welcome him home, Freya, frazzled in the kitchen would be nursing the baby, food bubbling away in a pot on the stove. It would mark the end of another day, without the one person he thought he could _never_ live without.

So how could it be, that the man who appeared to have everything, felt so alone?

.

_I told you if you called I would come running_

_Across the high and lows and the in-betweens_

_You and me we've got two minds that think as one_

_And our hearts march to the same beat_

Fives leant against the kitchen sink and looked out into the darkness.

It was 0500 and he always loved this time of the morning, when everything was quiet and still.

'**Have you ever wondered why is it always darkest before the dawn?'**

'_**That's not necessarily the case brother. Sometimes it isn't the darkest time of the night, **__**airglow which is light given off by the atmosphere can cause light variations.'**_

'**Do you have an answer for everything?'**

'_**Fives, there is always an answer for everything.'**_

But apparently Echo was for once, wrong.

There was no answer to the Citadel.

Fives continued to stare out the window, _his_ face reflected perfectly in the window.

Tash would sleep for another two hours, until he would bring her a _caf_, balanced perfectly in his left hand as he used the walking stick in his right. Then he would wait for her to shower, dress and join him at the table for some food before heading off to her clinic on the other side of town.

He looked around the kitchen. It was a large home, and they had barely used any more than three rooms, closing off the remainder of the house for no one in particular.

But he had his musings, and in a perfect world the rooms would all be occupied.

Fives would predominately use this time to reflect.

The good memories, the ones with him and Echo, always got the better of him, so instead, he would work through the events of the day he lost him. Just like a debriefing after a mission, Fives would nut out the decisions and orders made by the men in charge that fateful day. Writing them down, even using kitchen utensils as a mock up of where everyone was placed as it happened.

The images in his mind were so fresh.

It had been a tough day, the Jedi were never going to be in a position of control.

The Citadel was just too heavily fortified.

But every way he looked at it, Fives couldn't work out just what was running through Echo's mind, it was so out of character for him to make a rash decision.

"Stupid _di'kut,_" he said aloud, his voice breaking the perfect silence, "how could you do that to me?"

_**Do what brother?**_

'**Leave me. Like this, not good for anything. I would never had done that to you.'**

**But you did leave me.**

_**'What were you thinking? **_**You should have waited, the Jedi could have...'**

_**The Jedi? They waited too long, you knew that. They alone lost the element of surprise, not us.**_

**'I still remember your helmet. It was just lying there, and Kenobi ordered us out. I knew better than to leave it. I should have picked it up.'**

"Picked what up?" Tash stood in an oversized shirt with a pair of his socks. Fives swung around surprised as she looked dazed and still half asleep.

"Nothing, just talking to myself."

"To a psychologist that's _not_ a good sign."

Fives chuckled, "come on, come back to bed."

She followed him silently, hopping in next to him and crawling up onto his shoulder before drifting back to sleep.

The guilt was still there.

The _what if's_ and the _could have's_, all hovering above him as the sun began to creep it's way through the pulled curtains.

Fives continued to stare at the ceiling as she slept.

If only he could have _that_ conversation with Echo.

If only he could tell him how he _really_ felt.

_**'You know I love you brother?'**_

_**_**I know Fives, I know.**_**_

_And they say everything happens for a reason_

_You can be flawed enough, but perfect for a person_

_Someone who will be there when you start to fall apart_

_Guiding your direction when you're riding through the dark __[5]._

_._

But in reality, nothing ever _really_ happens for a reason. Nothing guides our destiny, just decisions we make in a split second that change the course of our lives.

Forever.

_._

_[5] You and Me. Alecia Moore, Dallas Green. Rose Ave. 2015._

_._


	24. Chapter 24

**Twenty Three**

* * *

Rex looked over the speeder bike and shook hands with the dealer.

"You've made a good choice sir," he said as he took the credits Ahsoka allocated him.

They were finally on Oriis.

After a month long incarceration on the little moon, they had jointly decided it was time to leave and head home.

To Piia's birth right.

Rex never disclosed the coordinates to Ventress, and to her credit, she never asked.

"Listen. If it were up to me, I'd haul your sorry arse into the Empire so fast your ears would bleed. But I am sure they'd arrest me along with you and I'm kinda used to being in charge of my own _destiny_ these days. Anyway, I'm only doing this for the kid," she said looking over at the infant gurgling happily on the floor mat. "Whether you like it or not captain, she's _sensitive_. Collar her when you're out in public places or she'll bring unwanted attention. You understand what I'm saying don't you?"

Rex understood all right. Gem had told him that Kenobi had stated the very same on Coruscant after Piia was born.

"I hate admitting this _witch_, but I am genuinely grateful for your help." It was a grand statement from the former military man, one both Ahsoka and Ventress knew would have been hard for Rex to say.

Ventress looked him over provocatively, "you know, you really were a formidable opponent. Once. Pity you were on the losing side."

Rex couldn't help but openly laugh. Ventress sure had a way with her words. The bridge had finally been built and he could now count on the former agent of Dooku for help any time in the future.

Walking out the door, Ventress wasn't the kind for laboured farewells, "Good luck Ahsoka," she voiced over her shoulder, 'you're gonna need it with _him_."

And with that, she was gone, her twin light sabres swaying seductively at her hips.

It would be the last time either of them would see the dark acolyte again.

Both Rex and Ahsoka were quiet as they packed the speeder with their meagre possessions. They would ride into Longinnes, heavily masked and pick up more supplies before heading to the house later in the day.

They needed to keep inconspicuous, after all, Togrutans and clones weren't an every day occurrence on Oriis.

.

"Come with me today, into the clinic," Tash said as she began to dress.

"What, with all your crazies?"

"You were one of them once, I must be doing something right." Fives threw a pillow at Tash and she caught it easily laughing. Once he would have thrown it with such power she would duck in anticipation of it collecting her. These days, his strength, along with their passion was a slow burn; not that she was complaining. She had been given a second chance and she woke every morning grateful of it.

She had miscarried.

Again.

Twice she had taken the home biochemical test and twice she had been thrilled beyond words, but just when she decided divulge her secret to her life partner, she had been disappointed at the unwillingness of the pregnancy to continue.

"Come on, it'll be fun. I'll let you listen?" Tash was becoming expert at shelving her feelings.

Fives continued to stare at the data pad sitting in his lap. As the weeks passed into months he had become more distant.

He had finished work on the ancient speeder in the garage, initially enthusiastic, spending every waking moment on rebuilding it. But she knew he wasn't doing it for himself, but for a memory or connection to another. She would look away as he would struggle in, tired covered in a sheen of sweat from exhaustion and pain, but satisfied he had done what he had set to do. It was important for him to work through something she knew was endless.

A love, a bond so great she could only imagine ever being a passenger, sitting on the periphery of their unique brotherhood.

There were lots of things that needed working on around the property. Fences required mending, garden beds had become overgrown and the vegetable patch he had promised to plant never eventuated. He had even taken to parking the speeder outside in the weather, as the garage doors had become stuck from lack of use, and the Gods knew the interior of the house could do with a fresh lick of paint.

"I've noticed that the South fence has a few loose boards."

No answer.

Every time she suggested something it was met with the same response.

Silence.

Tash collected her satchel from the lounge next to where he sat.

"I guess that means you're not coming with me again today?"

"Tired."

Tash sighed loud enough for him to hear and put on her coat.

"You'll be alright here on your own?"

"Not like I haven't done it before."

She knew what she had to do.

"I'll see you later then."

Nothing.

"Could at least acknowledge I'm leaving?"

"Yes! You're leaving. Okay!"

Tash walked past him and slammed the door on her way out.

A child was what they both needed.

.

"Have you plugged in the coordinates?"

"Yes."

Rex seemed nervous and Ahsoka sensed his anxiety at getting to the house; the last time he had been there was under vastly different circumstances.

Piia had been born. Then, he had felt guilty in being happy and now, there was another kind of guilt, although it was mixed with the relief of finally being home.

Unless found, there would be no reason to ever leave.

He had reached the end of his journey and was looking forward to watching his daughter grow up in her family home.

"Okay, I'll drive. You have Piia?"

Ahsoka smiled and turned around to reveal the infant strapped to her torso. Jiggling Piia against her chest, they both beamed an enormous smile under the layers of Bantha wool coats.

"All good here, hey P?"

Piia's arms waved in response and a chortle escaped her, making them both laugh.

Rex could never be sad when he looked at her.

She was his greatest achievement.

With that, Ahsoka stepped into the pillion with the now eight month old child and gave him the thumbs up.

Rex started up the engine and slowly made his way out of the garage, heading to his final destination.

And hopefully a new life.

.

Fives was asleep when he heard the roar of the engine coming towards the property.

He waited to hear the missing of the motor, that erratic change when that spark plug wouldn't fire properly. Being an older speeder, new points were almost impossible to source and Fives was yet to find an alternative, had he bothered to try.

He looked at his chrono. Tash wasn't due home for another four hours. Something wasn't right, and he hauled himself up and made his way to the door.

He watched as she pulled the speeder into the area in front of the garage and get off, removing her helmet and tossing her blonde hair free.

"You're home early?"

"Yes," she smiled at him, "I've decided to have a break, the next two weeks I'm all yours. Get some work around the house done."

"_Fek_ Tash, you just can't leave it, can you?"

"Whinge all you like, someone has to take charge," she replied as she unfastened her satchel.

"Nice, real nice," he said under his breath until he stopped cold and turned around sharply. Tash noticed how fast he moved, it was born in him and she followed his line of sight, scanning the only road in.

It was another motor, a bigger one than the speeder she had just arrived on.

"Were you followed?" His anxiety levels peaked immediately.

Tash looked worried, "no, no I don't think so."

"Go inside," he ordered as he limped inside the garage and retrieved the only weapon they had.

"Fives?"

"_I SAID GO INSIDE!"_

Tash disappeared quietly as he stood in front of her bike and watched as the driver slowed and passed through the open gate.

_Fek!_

He wasn't prepared physically to take on an intruder. His aim though, he felt sure, hadn't left him.

Rex had the upper hand. He knew Fives was at the house, but in all the turmoil surrounding them in the latter days of the Cone Wars, he never got a communique to him. He had the advantage and saw the man standing unsteadily with the weapon.

He scanned his ARC, he looked different, shorter and hunched over to the right a little. He knew Fives had been perilously injured. With no bacta tank, the damage would be permanent.

As he slowed to a stop he heard the voice at his side.

"Rex?"

"It's okay 'Soka, it's Fives."

"What?" Her tone one of incredulity.

He turned to see the gun aimed straight at his head.

"You have no business here," Fives said as he watched the driver raise his hands.

"I am unarmed."

The same silence descended over him. Fives was now in shock.

Rex spoke clearly, "I am going to remove my helmet now okay?"

As he removed his helmet and unwound the material hiding his face, Fives physically slumped at the sight of his old captain.

"Rex?" A small broken voice managed to make it's way out as Rex swung his leg off the bike and stood in front of him. Fives looked up to meet his gaze, tears welled high in his eyes, "am I dreaming brother?"

Rex said nothing but grabbed hold of Fives in a firm embrace, closing his eyes tight to fight back the same raw emotion that had engulfed his friend.

Rex heard the front door open and looked to see a woman step through with trepidation.

"Fives, Fives what is going on?"

Rex had mentally prepared himself for the reunion with Fives but hadn't anticipated that there would be another person at the house with him.

Rex took one look at the woman and it all came flooding back.

The loss.

_My loss._

The wall that had been momentarily dropped went flying back up at break neck speed.

He let go and stepped back, "I have Ahsoka and my daughter with me," he said as he turned to hide the confusion on his face.

_Jealousy?_

"Ma'am," he acknowledged the woman, as he lifted the infant off Ahsoka and walked past the small group and straight into the house.

_My house._

.

"Commander," Fives stammered out.

"Just plain 'ole Ahsoka these days Fives. It's good to see you, well, alive! I guess I'll get the entire story later?"

"Yes ma'am," he smiled and she sensed the old Fives, even if he didn't look like it.

Tash had stepped forward and extended her hand, "my name is Tash Belling."

Ahsoka smiled and shook it before she grabbed her pack. She then followed them both inside, noticing how Fives was leaning heavily on his walking stick.

"The captain?" he asked.

"Not now Fives, like your story, all in good time."

And that was something they all had plenty of.

Time.

.


	25. Chapter 25

**Twenty Four**

* * *

Rex took a sip from the offered mug and winced.

"Still can't get used to the taste?"

He looked up and waited before he replied.

"There are,_ a lot_, of things I can't get used to."

Tash took an uninvited seat at the chair opposite.

Unlike Fives, she didn't revere him.

The fire was burning low and the light was casting an eerie glow against his face; either that, or there was a level of malevolence about the infamous Captain Rex of the 501st. She had heard all the stories of his heroics over the years, the minutia of his ability to get out of any given situation.

But they were all Fives' romancing to her, and now, here he sat.

Just a man, like the rest of them, broken in battle and worn down by war.

"You know," she said in a guarded tone, "apparently I'm a good listener. Believe me when I say, _I've heard it all_."

Rex continued to stare at the brown liquid camouflaging as _caf,_ "I am not sure you have."

"Try me."

Rex looked up at the woman with the blonde hair.

It helped, in a way, that she was nothing like Gem. Fives had called it a night hours ago staying awake longer than he ought to, the pain coupled with the emotional day taking its toll. Rex had heard the door close and he knew he could venture out and not have to face him.

"Would you like Fives and I to leave? We have the credits. We can move if that would make you more comfortable. We're grateful for the help up to this point and understand totally if you would prefer to be alone."

He admired her tenacity.

He had made it abundantly clear when he arrived that he wanted nothing to do with anyone, the need to settle the baby paramount. But here was this woman, bringing him a _caf_ and pushing him into a conversation.

Propriety, impeccable manners or just his initial programming on Kamino meant the former captain couldn't continue to be rude when she was sitting directly opposite him.

"I gather Fives has spoken to you about our, I mean _my_, unique situation?

"Well, if you mean yours and Gem's, then yes. But he also told me about the others."

With the mention of her name, Rex was shocked into silence.

"Jesse, Kix. Hardcase and Echo," she stopped at Echo remembering how hard that death had affected her lover.

How was it she could say _all _those names without the pain he associated with them.

"You see Rex, it's what I do. Put peoples minds back together. When they're ready that is. That's how Fives and I met. Army Med, Level 6, Suite 4A."

Rex sat back into the chair.

She was right.

The hot drink that had sustained them all over their entire life would never taste the same. The barracks _caf_ was like nothing else. Black and sweet if you were a true connoisseur, with a dash of Bantha milk if the bitterness was too much for the palate. The first brew of the day was the best, but after a trip off world, battle and injury, it didn't matter if you were drinking the dregs.

It was late, and the house was cool.

Ahsoka had gone to the garage to meditate, the first time she felt comfortable and had the space to be alone, knowing that both Rex and Piia were truly safe.

It had been an emotion charged day.

Rex looked around the lounge.

There was no way around it; Gem was ingrained into every inch of the house. Everywhere he turned there was something to remind him of her, _of them._

"No," he spoke quietly, "I would like you both to stay, it's your home as well, and besides, I'd appreciate another woman around to help with Piia, no disrespect intended."

"None taken and thank you."

Tash stood up and held out her hand, "here, let me take that for you."

Rex gave her the half empty mug and nodded.

All of a sudden he felt very tired.

It was going to be hard, there was no denying it, but he knew he couldn't do it alone.

.

"Oi, big guy! Over here. Looks like you have a friend."

They were the words Reed never wanted to hear.

He had _no_ friends on Ilbeos, he made it his business not to get close to anyone and told no one who was even remotely interested where he was really from.

He had grown his hair deliberately long, as well as a beard to try and disguise himself to anyone who may have recognised him as a former Republic soldier. One redeeming feature about being so remote a plantation was the lack of technology. No holonet with continuous propaganda from the Empire.

That was the appeal of the planet with the tall trees, up in the branches, away from prying eyes, and just the scent of the newly sawed immature Mycenae wood and an enormous sky with no clouds.

So when his shift manager called out to him while he was adjusting his harness, Reed felt as though the entire universe had finally caught up to him.

As he turned he steeled himself, but he needn't have worried. When he saw the rag tag man in the oversized coat standing next to his boss, he couldn't help but smile. This wasn't someone who was there to bring a deserting soldier to justice. This was just another airman who had also heard about the gigantic trees and the anonymity of Ilbeos.

Reed stepped forward and immediately put the tired, anxious looking man at ease. He too, had been surprised when he was told there was someone just like him working for the company.

Reed was careful not to address the man by his former commission. There was no need for such formality.

Anymore.

They were all born equal and now, without the Military breathing down their necks they were even more so.

"_Burc'ya vaal burk'yc, burc'ya veman."_

"_Cin vhetin, ner vod."_

_They clutched hands, the traditional way of their heritage._

"Welcome brother, they call me Reed."

"Good to meet you Reed, but you have me at a disadvantage."

Reed laughed as he held his hand, "now's theres a table that's turned, hey _Wolffe._"

.

"We don't have the likes of_ him_ here."

Another boarding house, another door shut firmly in their face.

Jesse looked down at his hands, he was the reason people were too frightened to rent them a room for the night.

"Come on, there's one more down the road. I'll go in alone, secure the room and then we'll get you in via the fire escape."

Jesse shook his head, waving his arm. 'No,' he mouthed, "too risky."

"Oh _please_," Gem was losing patience. She was tired and her side ached, she wanted nothing more than to find a bed and go to sleep. "Don't you give up on me now, not after dragging my sorry _shebs_ out of the water, and let's face it, we've just been through worse. This is how we're doing it. Got it?" She swung around and came to face him within a millimetre, Jess didn't flinch. She was intimidating and for the briefest of moments, he was caught up in the adventure.

He nodded his head.

The only alternative turned out to be a rather less than salubrious boarding house.

Gem opened the door and stepped inside, waiting for the Ithorian to raise his hideous head from whatever appeared to be so enthralling on his datapad.

Within twenty standard minutes they both stood in the small room with the one bed.

Gem opened her pack and removed her clothing, standing there in nothing but her briefs, Jesse could see the wound weeping. She knew he was watching, but didn't care in the slightest.

Gem had apparently lost everything, even the ability to kill herself.

She pulled the covers back on the bed and crawled in, relishing in the feeling of utter exhaustion. She looked over at the clone, standing fully clothed.

"Come on, I won't bite," she said and patted the pillow next to her.

Jesse shook his head, "floor."

"Suit yourself!" she stated and turned to face the wall before falling promptly to sleep.

Jesse stood for a minute and looked at the pillow on the double bed. He hadn't been this tired ever on a mission, ever.

If injured he would have been extracted by now or a medic would have sedated him sufficiently.

He couldn't think straight, but moved towards the bed and climbed in, fully dressed next to the Peoples Representative of Oriis; his captains wife.

As he lay there, his eyes feeling the weight of exhaustion he couldn't help but think, how things had changed.

.


	26. Chapter 26

I dedicate this chapter to my friend, Slysenran0408 for his exceptional outlook on life.

**Twenty Five**

* * *

"Where were you then? The night it went down?"

They were sitting around the campfire. Reed had made sure Wolffe got a tent placed next to his, just far enough away from the other workers so they could talk about their past.

In private.

"Trip Zip. I'd just completed a run to the mid rim." His face then saddened, "I was so naïve commander. I thought it just involved the Jedi, but it went further than that."

Wolffe sat forward listening intently, "what do you mean, _further?"_

"It was bad brother, _really bad_," he looked up into Wolffe's eyes.

"The order was to eliminate the Jedi Reed, no one else."

"Well, someone needed to tell that to the boys in blue. They went on a rampage with Skywalker at the Jedi Temple. They murdered kids, civilians, politicians, anyone who got in their way, even their own if they dare question the order. _Adenn_, completely _adenn._"

"I guess the Jedi Younglings were considered one and the same with the Masters. But politicians? I wouldn't have thought they'd get themselves mixed up in grubby Jedi business.""

They both sat silent, listening to the fire crackle, their faces warmed by the heat.

Reed continued, the flames beguiling, fanned by the truth that needed to be told.

"Fox called me in to help transport one badly injured off world."

"So Fox is still there, I should have known." Wolffe laughed low, "he was always _ori'buyce kih'kovid."_

"No, no. You have him all wrong. He kept his _osik_ together that night."

Wolffe nodded, suitably chastised.

"Which one?"

"Pardon?"

"Which pollie did you shift?"

"People's Rep for Oriis."

Wolffe furrowed his brow and rubbed his cybertronic eye, "she was Kenobi's blood wasn't she? I met her once."

Then he remembered the encounter. The woman had been fascinated with his eye, saying her father invented the model. He also remembered the argument that ensued with the Jedi general, "maybe that's the reason she was targeted."

Reed said nothing. He knew it wasn't the _only _reason she had been attacked but Wolffe had been right in saying she was the same as Kenobi.

Skylar was Force sensitive.

Reed had spent hours thinking through that night. He never got the full story from Fox, only that she was in the Jedi Library that night with the baby and that Piia along with Rex had been slaughtered by the hand of the Chosen One.

They sat, in quiet contemplation before Wolffe cleared his throat and asked the one question burning in the back of his mind.

"Do you know anyone else who made it out?"

"Cody's still there, poor _utreekov_. He wouldn't know any better, nuna pecked the entire war by Kenobi. Fox obviously. Gree's _kyrayc_, bought it on Kashyyyk and I left before I heard anything about Bly or Jet. But," he turned to Wolffe, "you know Rex is dead?"

The last three words were as hard to say as they were to hear.

"Rex?" Wolffe stood, "I thought you said the 501st were at the Temple?"

Reed shook his head, "I told you, its bad brother, haven't you seen any of it on the holonet?"

Wolffe then paced around the fire pit like the pack animal he was.

"No," he said absently. Reed watched as he deciphered the information, he knew what he was thinking, _fek,_ he'd thought it often enough himself.

Rex had inadvertently been a symbol throughout the length of the war.

He simply, appeared invincible; second in charge to the rogue Skywalker, he would always return, sometimes worse for wear, but no matter how bad the war was going, there would be a collective sigh at the barracks whenever the captain of the 501st marched in.

As long as Rex was around, they all stood a chance.

"You were on Cato Neimoidia weren't you, when the order was given?"

Wolffe swung around and glared at Reed who, to his credit, didn't flinch. They may have left the military, but the flight commander was still a higher ranked officer and deserved no less than the respect his old commission demanded.

A question had been asked, and a line had been overstepped.

.

"What just happened in there?"

"Exactly what I said."

Niner walked behind Darman as he strode back into ARCA barracks. He reached out and grabbed his arm and swung him around to face him.

"You can't be serious?"

"What? You heard Holy Roly. They want _us_ to find Jedi and that is exactly what _we're_ going to do."

"Have you even thought about this? I mean, more than just in the shower?" Niner dropped his voice, "what if we lead the Empire straight to them, _huh?_ What if they bug us and we lead them straight to Kal?"

Darman shrugged his arm free, "do you think I am a complete _di'kut_? The only people I will hand over are the _Jetii_ that are living there_."_

"_Fek_ Dar!"

"No, not_ 'fek Dar_,'" he replied sarcastically, "_Fek Kal!_ He's the one who has put everyone in this position; _he's the one_ who let the Jedi in. I don't plan on selling out my brothers."

"Do you think Kal would have brought them there if they were a threat? Think about it will ya; _why-would-he-allow-them-there_ when he knows how we all feel about them? He must have a reason Darman."

Niner felt like he was chasing his tail.

The unimaginable had just happened.

Roly Melusar had just given them permission to take a ship to Mandalore. He still couldn't get his head around the logistics.

"Well then, let's find out just what _that reason_ is shall we? I'm not getting into this with you here _ner vod_. Lets just get a ship, get the _fek_ off this rock and we'll work the rest out later."

"What about Rede?"

Darman walked out in front, refusing to look at his sarge.

"What about him?"

Niner dropped his voice lower. "He's _Sparti _Darman. He's _not_ one of us."

"Time will tell won't it? To be honest, I really don't care. We'll deal with it when we have to okay?"

"What exactly are you saying?" Niner was losing his patience.

Darman then turned around and the hurt, anger, disappointment and fear all flickered across his face distorting it momentarily before he regained control.

"Collateral damage _sarge_, remember?"

It wasn't like Darman to be malicious.

Niner stood in the corridor dumbfounded, and watched as his friend continued on down the hall.

It was like a switch had been flipped and Darman had changed. Niner couldn't keep up; he was a nervous wreck when it came to his oldest friend.

He spent nights remembering how Darman was once the easy going, 'she'll be right,' go to, munitions expert; nothing could rattle him.

Then.

Now _he_ was the ticking time bomb, ready to blow at any given moment. One minute not interested in anything to do with Kyrimorut, the next he was leading a mission there.

Niner walked in behind him, and started going through his pack. Saying nothing for fear of being overheard he knew what he had to do.

He would contact the clan on Mandalore and warn them of their arrival. His bucket was wired and he could quietly comm Kal _en route_.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Grab your _osik_ Rede, we're bugging out in ten."

"Where?"

"Home _ner vod."_

"You know I don't like it when you speak like that Darman. Anyway," he said looking over at Niner, "I thought we were already home?"

Darman laughed out loud and shut his pack.

"Nine minutes and counting."

Rede moved quickly over to his locker and began pulling out his gear when the anaemic looking barracks lieutenant popped his head around the corner. Wearing the new grey flannel of the Empire, he was one of the more detested non-clone soldiers assigned to keep an eye on the Commando's.

The animosity ran both ways.

"Hey, _hot shots_, change of orders," he said, flipping the data pad on the bunk next to Darman.

"_WHAT?"_

"You heard me, read it and weep, _freaks_," he replied quickly as he disappeared before the commando could throw an arm at his face.

"Remind me to kill him later," Darman said annoyed.

Niner moved forward and grabbed the data pad and opened the screen but Darman snatched it out of his hands.

"What the _fek?_ Abafar?" He threw it back at his sergeant who then scrolled through the intel.

Niner sighed, "they have an informant who says there is a clone living there."

"_We're commando's not fekking baby sitters!"_ his voice boomed throughout the barracks, _"send in the meat cans if they want to catch one of their own!"_

Niner looked up and handed the pad over to him to read for himself, "can you just stop for a sec? Read it Dar, apparently he's RC."

_Could it be? _

They looked at each other asking the question.

_What were the odds?_

"Should we tell Delta?"

"No, let's just keep this to ourselves. For now."

"_Fek_," Darman said as he looked into Niner's eyes.

"Shut up and suit up," was all he got in response.

.

"Well?"

Wolffe stared into the flames, the fire reflected in his artificial eye.

"No, I was half way home. _Can you believe it?_ Koon sent _us home_, most of the pack. Ordered to Coruscant when the most important order of all came over the comm. I wasn't there when Jag followed through."

"Could you have done it?"

One question, only one answer.

For the second time Wolffe stood.

"_Fek no!"_

"_Udessi ner vod, udessi."_

Wolffe stared at the other pilot and composed himself. There was no way around it, with the silver cybertronic eye and the scar running longitudinally down his face, Wolffe was more intimidating than Reed ever remembered. Having never served directly under the commander, the only contact the pollie jockeys had with the combat men was via the weekly updates on the internal network when they was assigned back on Coruscant.

The self appointed 'Wolffe pack' were a bunch of the fiercest fighter pilots the Kaminoans had ever produced. Known throughout the Republic for their unmitigated dedication to their general, it would have been safe to say that every pilot in the GAR aspired to be as good as any one of them.

Staring into the fire, Wolffe then unburdened himself.

Reed had sensed it the minute he laid eyes on his former commander.

"Koon was the best of the best. I know they talk about Skywalker and Kenobi being at the forefront during the war, but Plo was the quiet achiever. Some say he was a better Jedi than the two of them put together. I know he was a better tactician that's for sure. He never lost his faith in _us_. Not once Reed, _not once!_ We were a team." His voice began to crack and Reed knew better than interrupt, he knew that Wolffe carried more than a scruffy coat on his back. "I remember the order and backing up the codes before everything I'd been fighting for was lost. I dropped back and let the men push on before I reprogrammed the navi and punched the button. I'm a deserter Reed. I left my command, _my men!_ It's inexcusable, but I couldn't defend something I no longer believed in. You understand don't you?"

"I hear you loud and clear brother."

There was nothing more to be said.

Reed had also been through the same gamut of emotions, questioning his decision to leave and head to Ilbeos time and again.

The two would become the best of friends.

They didn't know it yet, but other wingmen would arrive at the plantation planet. Apparently the stories of the clear skies and the tall trees were true and they would each independently seek out their escape and route there.

Finding a new place to call home.

.


	27. Chapter 27

**Twenty-Six**

* * *

Rex forced himself to take it easy.

For the first time in his life, he _learned_ to fully relax.

There was no way of avoiding it, the initial shock at seeing Tash at the house with Fives had brought back memories of the woman he shared a child with.

He wasn't perfect and feelings of jealousy would have to be shelved.

Along with self-pity, anger and disappointment.

But Rex had a bigger agenda.

He would be the last person to admit that it actually helped having both Ahsoka and Tash around to help with Piia.

And they both seemed more than willing to help.

_How hard could it be right?_

He was on a steep learning curve.

Piia was now starting solids. This was something the former soldier found frustrating and he soon began to resent the hours wasted attempting to get food into her.

"Is this normal?" He asked rather rudely one afternoon.

"It sure is Rexie," Ahsoka smiled and cooed at the infant, taking the spoon and lifting it high while making, what he thought were engine noises. Rex looked truly perplexed. Piia loved it and opened her mouth, happily swallowing the orange mash.

"Cubes are less messy," he grumbled as he stood and wiped the muck from his pants.

Rex took on fatherhood like a mission. Working out the parameters and contingencies for each day.

It's just none of them went to plan.

He had changed the bedroom to accommodate Piia, dragging the mattress onto the floor to avoid her rolling off the bed during the night, feeling immensely

self satisfied that he had eliminated a potential hazard.

Not that he slept.

Rex would spend most of the night watching every breath she took.

As he had once done with her mother.

The simple act of bathing always went over the allotted time and he would come out wetter than the infant he was attempting to clean.

"Argh, I give up!" He stated one morning, dumping the howling child onto Ahsoka's lap.

"Oh come here you poor thing," she soothed.

Rex softened, feeling foolish, "it's just she won't stay still."

"I wasn't talking to you," Ahoska replied deadpan.

The house, thanks to Piia, was humming with activity.

Even Tash was growing on Rex; she didn't revere him like Fives and wouldn't placate his intemperate mood swings. Together with her no nonsense approach to the practicalities of life, they all found their place and quickly became a high functioning unit.

Slowly Rex sought out company in the evening.

He never spoke; just walking into the lounge with a _caf_ he would sit and watch the holonet with the others, listening to their conversation. Eventually he joined in and began to discuss the work that needed doing to improve the property that had been neglected for four years. Tash was mindful of her relationship with Fives, and to a man who had just lost his life partner, she made sure not to flaunt their _armour_ in front of the captain. He and Fives had spoken briefly about what happened the night the order was given, but it was Ahsoka that had filled in the missing pieces.

Rex knew Fives.

He knew he would have made it his business to find out the minutia, just as he had done with barracks gossip back on Coruscant.

And he knew the captain would talk when he was ready.

Overall, things were beginning to improve, Tash had noticed Fives' mood improve tenfold.

Rex had got him moving more, and had taken to walking the properties fence line.

"Sitrep Fives."

Fives turned and flashed an enormous smile.

_There you are, there's my old Fives._

This is what the ARC had missed, the connection to something from his past. Shot, injured, transported and relocated. Fives was disjointed and unresolved.

But with the arrival of Rex he quickly realised that he wasn't alone in carrying emotional Republic baggage.

Rex made mental notes of what needed to be done. More people had become aware of the house built into the side of the mountain and he was determined to make it a strong hold against the ever-present threat of the Empire.

It was a perfect change of season day. The air, whilst still cool had a hint of the heat that would follow in the coming months. Fives watched as Rex removed the equipment he had brought with him from the garage to rebuild the southern fence.

"Fives. String a line and mark out where the new posts are to be driven will you."

Fives tried hard to hide his surprise, and for the first time in months he felt truly alive again.

Rex watched how he moved out of the corner of his eye.

He could see that Fives found it difficult to bend at all, but managed to crawl along, marking the position of the new holes by banging in the stakes while on all fours.

Many would see it as humiliating; a once elite soldier on his hands and knees crawling around in the dirt.

But Rex didn't.

He was proud that Fives had found a way to carry out the order. It was something they were trained to do, all of them; find a way to get the job done.

No matter what.

"Between the two of us we might be able to finish this by next winter." Rex was out of condition as well. Even though he had recovered from his injuries, he was still physically weaker than he had ever been.

_I'm mentally weaker as well._

As the morning rolled into early afternoon, both removed layers of clothing as they worked, Fives stopping short at his thermal.

He was embarrassed by the scar from the hack job that saved his life. The scar wasn't straight like a surgeons or a B1 Med tinnie but an emergency incision that had healed crooked and puckered in spots along it's length.

Rex pulled his shirt off as he dug another post hole, his skin glistening as he ploughed the auger into the soft earth.

"Pass me that post will you Fives?"

Fives stood riveted to the spot, he hadn't had to lift anything up to this point.

"I can't," and then more loudly, "I can't lift it Rex."

There was no shame in what he said. He had been perilously injured, he didn't have the bacta to help him regain full mobility and he had accepted that the trade off for living, was one with limitations.

"Sure you can," Rex grunted as he thumped the hole one last time for good measure. He stopped and turned, letting the shovel drop to the ground and wiped away the sweat on his arm. "Here," he said breathing hard, "we'll do it together."

And they did.

Rex took most of the weight, Fives could feel that, but for the first time since he was shot by Fox, he felt as though he had a purpose.

They then placed the first pole and Fives held it firm and straight.

"You know," Rex said as he poured the bag of durocrete into the hole, "if we did a bit of training, I reckon you'd get some muscle weight back." He sniffed another bead of sweat off the tip of his nose and smiled as he looked up at the ARC, his eyes squinting with the sunlight. Fives remained silent, watching Rex as he jiggled the grey sludge around the wooden post.

"What'd you think, hey? I could sure do with the exercise."

"I'm not like we were Rex."

"None of us are Fives, none of us are." Rex stood and dusted his hands together before he moved over to the next marker.

As the afternoon crept away, the south fence was finally repaired, better than when it had been built.

"Do you think we could camouflage the entire fence line under the trees?"

"It's possible." Fives said as he looked around, "those bushes there could be replanted. They'd make fine cover."

"Copy that," Rex said as he lay back on the ground closing his eyes and letting his aching muscles finally rest. The fence, which would normally have taken two clones in their hey day three hours to repair had taken the entire day. Both of them were exhausted from lack of fitness, but they had finished what they had set out to do.

Fives lay on his left side, he couldn't lay straight any longer than a couple of minutes before he would wince in pain and have to move.

Rex was aware of his breathing and said nothing.

It was Fives who spoke first.

It was time.

"Did you ever think in your wildest dreams we'd end up like this?"

"It beats the alternative."

Fives then laughed before the air caught in his throat and he began coughing.

"Easy _ner vod_," Rex said sitting up.

"_Fek_," Fives wheezed, "I hate being like this."

"We'll fix it Fives." It was a simple statement, but it meant the universe to Fives.

Rex laid back down again, "that woman of yours is a keeper."

"Don't know why she puts up with me."

"Mmm," the late afternoon sun was warming their aching muscles and both could have easily fallen fast asleep.

"Are you alright Rex?"

"No." There was no point sugar coating it. Fives heard Rex tick his tongue before he continued, "I'm angry Fives, and sad, confused, but mostly I'm frightened. I am so scared I'm going to make a mistake I feel paralysed to make a decision."

"Apparently it will take some time."

At that comment, Rex turned his head ever so slowly and stared him down. "I'm so sick of hearing _that_ as well."

"I know, but eventually it gets better."

"Does it really?"

"_Fek_ no," Fives laughed out loud, lifting the seriousness of the conversation slightly, "but it's what Tash says _will_ happen."

Fives looked at Rex and grinned.

"You know what the worst thing is Fives?"

Two dark eyes stared back, waiting for him to continue.

"The worse thing is that I never saw it coming. None of it. I was such a fool – right up to the end I never thought Skywalker would turn on me. On _us! _I can see it now, _fek,_ deep down I knew it then, but never admitted it. He led us to believe that we were invincible but he killed us all slowly; picking us off one by one as we got caught up in _his _tragedy._"_

Fives remained silent.

"Then the order. Who'd have thought they'd make us do it? It does my head in. I just wish, _ah -_ "

Rex shook his head.

"Sir."

"I wish I had nothing to compare it all against, you know? The good times, even the bad, they just make everything hurt even more, and I feel guilty because while I miss _her_, I miss the men also. Jesse, Hardcase, Echo, Kix."

"They were good _vode_."

"The best. They _all were_, that's the trouble. Being in charge wasn't important, _it never was_. But that feeling of knowing you had a team with you. I hate being alone." Rex forced an uncomfortable laugh, "see, I could never have made ARC."

Fives waited before he broke the silence. "They say a true leader is one that creates an opportunity in which others do great things. _You_ did that Rex. You inspired all of us to do the unimaginable. Rishi, Kamino, Umbara. Each and every campaign, you knew your men could rise to the challenge."

"Not Umbara."

"Especially Umbara. We knew what needed to be done, we never needed the Jedi to take the Capitol. You never doubted any of us. That's not Fett, that was _you_," he stressed, "the Kaminoans knew it. I bet even Skywalker knew it. Maybe that's why he - "

"Stop!" Rex stood, _"enough!"_ That's when Fives noticed his hand shake. Rex quickly grabbed it in an attempt to conceal the tremor.

"I just did as I was ordered. Nothing more, nothing less."

_Nothing more, nothing fekking less…_

_._


	28. Chapter 28

**Twenty Seven**

* * *

"It's not him."

There was no mistaking the disappointment in Darman's voice as he rolled over onto his back.

Niner closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

_Fek it! This now complicates things._

Rede on the other hand, maintained position, keeping a close eye on the man they were sent to find.

And return.

They had taken the craft Roly had promised them, and flown to Abafar in the outer rim.

They had originally thought they were going to Mandalore after Darman struck a deal with Melusar, their CO. But as fate would have it, they were sent to retrieve a clone reported by an opportunistic alien after a moderate reward.

Darman, Rede and Niner had spent the day on surveillance of a small mechanics garage watching the man come and go. Hidden high amongst the buildings they had found him without a problem.

Both Niner and Darman had hoped, through some miracle, it was Sev, but as soon as their contact turned to face them Niner knew they had made the right decision not to tell Delta of their mission.

"What do you mean _it's not him_? _It's him alright."_ Rede didn't understand.

"What do you want to do sarge?" Darman ignored the young trooper and threw it back to Niner.

"Let's head back to the ship."

"What?" Rede questioned, "we've got to bring him in. He's a _deserter_."

The second he said the last word Niner knew there would be no chance of convincing the youngest member of their team to _desert_ along with them.

That's how Niner saw it all going down.

The trip to Abafar, whilst inconvenient, had bought him some precious time to think about the mission to Mandalore.

Darman got up and began to walk towards the ship.

"Dar, sarge? Wait! We can't just leave! This is _our mission_."

Darman switched to closed comm.

"There's your answer about Rede sarge."

Niner remained silent, thinking and clicking his tongue as he always did when mulling over a problem. Darman was right. There was no way around it. Rede was now the problem they knew deep down he would be from the very beginning.

They continued on in silence, Rede couldn't understand what was happening and scrambled to his feet, quickly collecting his kit.

"What do you want to do _Ner'ika_?"

Niner swung around fast and grabbed at his vambrance, "look Dar, this is our chance, _our only chance_. Let's load up, prepare to launch, they'll get the signal on Trip Zip loud and clear. We cut our chips, disable the ships tracking device and for all intents and purposes, we crashed taking off. We're off line. Forever."

Darman could hear the desperation in Niner's voice and immediately knew he meant every word. He could tell he had thought it through and everything he said was plausible.

Niner held onto Darman, wanting, _willing_ him to give him the nod.

Melusar's word repeated in his mind, "revenge is a dish best served cold," and he knew that as much as he wanted to remove the Jedi from Kyrimorut permanently, he now wanted to see his son more.

Niner was right.

And he could still get rid of the Jedi there. An old piece of Awa bait and a kid, how hard could they be? The tale of getting Altis and the rouge Jedi group was just to get a _fekking_ ship off the very people that owed him more.

"That's all well and good, but we'll have Roly send another team to Mandalore if we don't go."

"No, it was _our contacts_ that was going to get him Altis. He knows that. We have the connection with Kal, not the others. Old Roly is no idiot."

Darman thought for a minute as they began the hike back to the ship.

"Hey! What about the clone? Sarge, Dar?" Rede was furious that they had just abandoned a mission.

Darman looked over to Niner, who refused to meet his gaze.

"Fix it," was all he said as he turned the volume and the HUD off in his bucket.

If he didn't hear or see it, then maybe it didn't happen.

But it did, and it would be something that he would spend the rest of his life atoning for.

.

"You men thinking of bugging out without me?"

They were caught completely by surprise. Niner stumbled, annoyed that he hadn't turned his bucket back on. He stood quickly, blinking frantically and faced off with the man they had been charged with bringing back to Coruscant.

"You're free to go brother. We didn't see you OK?" He said as he quickly pulled in his vibroblade, the one he was about to use to cut out his own microchip.

"No, not OK. I want to go back, I'm no deserter, I need to get back."

"Look, don't you watch the holonet?" Niner couldn't believe this guy and was losing what little patience that remained. "What was your unit?"

"Foxtrot, attached to the 212th during the battle of Sarrish."

Niner knew it was one the Republic's monumental losses and while he felt sorry for the soldier, he wasn't interested in getting to know him anymore than what he was just told. Both he and Darman had disabled the tracking system of the craft and were about to remove their chips when he wandered into their camp, suited up in his white plastoid marked with yellow.

They thought they had planned it perfectly, but they didn't count on a soldier who _wanted to be found_.

"Listen _ner vod_, you're free. You don't want to go back there, believe me. Things have changed - ,"

"You're not listening to me," he shouted, "I _need_ to get back."

Darman stepped forward from behind the ship, "take it easy buddy, we're all on the same side here."

"Just like your _buddy_ behind those bushes. I saw what you did back there."

Darman shucked his DC forward and pointed it at the other commando and there they all stood.

"Easy Dar, we can sort this out. Do you have a name?"

"Gregor. You?"

"Niner, sergeant first class Omega Squad."

"You're one of Skirata's boys."

"Yeah, that's right," Niner's voice was calm and instantly diffused the building tension.

_"Get rid of him sarge, the balls already rolling."_

"What's your hurry Gregor? We'd think any of the commando units would want to stay off the grid."

"I would and believe me there are worse places to live than out here, but," he stopped for a moment, "I have someone I need to get back to."

_"A woman! Sarge, lets drop him and bug out!"_

"You're buckets _on_ bishwag." Gregor yelled at Darman who for the first time in a long time, was all out of words.

Niner removed his bucket _tout suite_ and looked at it in his hands, "you're tuned into our HUD?" It had been his biggest fear ever since the Empire was formed. His paranoia was at the highest it had ever been, and now it had been validated.

"Yeah, I've had to modify _everything_ since I was left for dead. Listen, I don't want any trouble, I just want to get back to Corrie OK?"

"Argh!" Niner roared and threw his bucket hard onto the ground. This whole mission had turned south and all he wanted to do was get to Kal and the others on Mandalore.

Darman followed suit, their helmets were of no use to them now their comm link had been compromised.

He was good, Niner gave him that, and fit. He had obviously kept in shape even though he had been abandoned in the middle of no where. Gregor slowly removed his helmet and that's when they saw it. The left side of his face had been burned, the scarring continuing down his neck.

It instantly reminded the two of Atin and a pang of melancholy hit them both, hard.

"You've seen some action _ner vod_."

"I'm not your brother," Gregor hissed back, not wanting any of their platitudes or sympathy. "I just want to get home, period."

"We have another mission on the back of this one," it was all Niner could come up with on the fly.

"_Nerf osik_. The Empire wouldn't have sent you if you weren't here to bring me back in. I've seen the reward amounts and I knew if I reported myself, someone would come. We're expensive remember, and they need us to balance the books."

He had done his homework as well. But then again, they'd expect nothing less from one of their own.

.


	29. Chapter 29

**Twenty Eight**

* * *

Vail's face prickled when he saw the memo come through on the secure parliamentary channel. Without thought he placed his bucket on and smacked his departure code into the station console.

"I'm heading out for a minute OK Eight three."

Eight three looked up and nodded.

He never did get another name, and was still as earnest as the day he was assigned to the Guard.

"Copy that lieutenant."

Vail walked quickly, knowing that every minute in this case, counted.

Commander Fox was in the main barracks building.

Another court martial.

First, he made sure the men were transported with respect.

Unlike the way they were brought in.

Then, during proceedings he would account for their behaviour during incarceration, always putting a positive and regretful spin on each and every one, hoping that it would help with the final judgement.

Deep down, he knew it wouldn't.

Most cases took less than thirty standard to adjudicate and no man was given a second chance.

It was a farce.

Good men were sent back to Kamino for the obligatory reconditioning.

And they all knew what that meant.

Fox would then stand as the judgement was handed down.

Some would yell and scream, swearing in Mandalorian, mostly at the new regime.

Some would hurtle abuse directly at him.

One even went so far as to spit in his general direction, screaming at the top of his lungs that Fox was no better than the Awa bait that produced them.

He would stand straight and take it on the chin. It was his burden to receive, his disappointment to take on as well.

Then there were the ones that would simply stand silent, a couple broke down and cried.

But come what may, Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard had been there for each and every one of the soldiers convicted of desertion by the new regime.

_Who else was there for these men?_

Vail opened the door and entered silently, walking quickly down to where his commander sat, he leaned forward and relayed the intel.

The commander's head swung around and he stared his lieutenant down.

"When?"

"Just now sir. I logged on and it flashed up first."

Fox stood and Vail stepped back to avoid a collision.

"With all due respect sirs, an_ issue_ has arisen that requires my immediate attention back in the Senate building. I ask for your permission to be dismissed."

"Permission granted commander," the general waved his hand as of no consequence. Fox stood still for a second, knowing then that none of this mattered to any of the ubiquitous grey uniformed military hierarchy sitting in front of him.

These men weren't like _them_.

_They weren't blood._

Fox couldn't do any more, especially now; he suddenly had a bigger agenda.

.

The commander didn't waste time on formalities.

Knowing the code he entered it and waited for the instant swish of the automatic door.

"Olphina?" His voice was unnervingly loud.

_Anxious._

The apartments inhabitants were startled by the crude intrusion.

"Olphina, where are you?"

"I'm here Fox," she said quietly and stepped forward. "It's alright," she turned to the woman frantically packing her belongings, "if you could give us a just few minutes please?"

The two hand maidens moved aside and left, glaring at the clone in full uniform.

Fox stepped forward then stopped.

He was confused.

_This isn't me?_

Suddenly everything around him was falling apart. He may have appeared to be in control, but in reality he was floundering.

And now the playing field had been changed yet again.

He had been through enough.

But nothing could have prepared him for the attack on the one person who least deserved it.

His relationship with Olphina, whilst stronger than ever had taken a curve in the road. There was now a new level of intimacy, one he never thought possible.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I was only told myself an hour ago."

"What's happened?"

"I don't know? I received a communiqué from Oriis recalling me back. They're appointing another member into the Senate. My term is suddenly, over. I am no longer required here on Coruscant."

"That doesn't make sense," he was running his fingers through his hair, "there are protocols to adhere to, it just doesn't happen like that."

Olphina could see that he was struggling as she had done when she was told to return to her home world.

Then, came the clarity.

She was finally free.

Olphina put her hand on his arm and smiled but Fox was still mentally processing the order.

Panic rose in him, "tell me you weren't just going to leave? Without saying anything?"

"No, no," she soothed as she cradled his face in her hand. "Come with me Fox. Now."

Plain and simple.

Fox was in internal hell.

What should he do?

Stay.

Or go?

With her.

.

"So, what do you all think?"

Coric looked at the men sitting on the bunk. It was the only contingency he had come up with to leave Ground Zero. Chopper looked at Whisk and Didge and knew they were overwhelmed with the prospect of deserting, the snipers hands red raw from his ever increasing anxiety levels.

He looked over at Boil who was quietly nodding his head. "This could actually work," he said smiling, "this could actually work."

_CT-6851 was a changed man._

_Ever since Umbara._

_He had been one of the many that suffered in silence, keeping to himself since the death of his lover._

_There was no one person to blame, but the establishment was a good start._

_The first things to go was his hair and beard, shaving them off as a mark of respect to Waxer. But if he thought that he could deflect his thoughts, he was wrong. Everywhere he looked, there were the same eyes staring back at him. So he shut down; spending every spare minute in the gym, thumping glimmick through his ear piece and chiselling every muscle on his body with anger. He marked his inner forearm with Waxers designation. He looked menacing and even Chopper steered clear, hoping that eventually he might open up._

_And that time had come, of sorts, one afternoon in the gymnasium._

_The new recruits were going through their training when Boil looked up to see Chopper laughing at their inability to move quickly._

"_They'll last five minutes at that rate."_

_Boil didn't smile and kept his face bland as he too watched the men. Chopper knew that this was an opportunity._

"_Wanna show them how it's done?" Boil's eyes flicked up under his brow. There was a hint of something there still and Chopper had seen it briefly flash over his face. A small amount of interest._

"_Nah," he replied shaking his head, "let them buy it." That's when Chopper knew that Boil wasn't like the rest. He had answered the question he was too scared to ask. Chopper sought him out in the privacy of his room and went through what Coric had told him._

"_So brother, are you in?" Chopper knew Boil was a ticking time bomb and thought he had blown it, risking everything telling him of the plan to leave with the 501st men._

_Telling him that Rex had survived._

_But he needn't have doubted himself, or Boil._

"OK, so we are all good right? First of the month, when the new supplies come in, we make a break for it."

Didge couldn't help but laugh nervously.

"Well?" Coric stared them all down. He could rely on the men assembled.

Whisk, Chopper, Didge and Boil.

As long as it went to plan. But if it didn't, he also had a contingency.

They wouldn't be taken hostage and be recommissioned back on Kamino.

They would save the Empire the trouble.

They trusted each other enough to make sure that never happened.

Didge cleared his throat and found the courage to ask the question that was perpetually on his mind, "what about Sats?"

What about Sats?

It had been asked several times.

When they were deployed from Kamino.

When Rex gave them the opportunity to decide on taking the inoculation from HQ.

Now, when they were planning to go AWOL.

Always the same question but still no answer.

But this time it wasn't Coric they were all staring at but the scarred trooper with the menacing glare.

Chopper knew the answer.

It's just the others didn't want to hear it.

.

"Master, you requested my presence?"

"Yes, Darth Vader, come in, come in." The Emperor turned and smiled at his greatest achievement. "There' s a diplomatic craft that is leaving Coruscant for Oriis. Make sure it doesn't hit hyperspace."

"Your will is my command."

.


	30. Chapter 30

**Twenty Nine**

* * *

"We didn't even know this was down here!" Fives looked just as bewildered as Tash.

Rex had finally taken them to the area under the house that was once Tomas Gem's laboratory. It may have appeared cold and empty, but as soon as the lights switched on, the size of the room became apparent. Rex had intended to use it as a training area for both himself and Fives, setting up a course of exercise stations in an attempt to regain some fitness.

"This is all new equipment," Ahsoka noticed as she ran her hand across an auto analyser, "what exactly was going on down here Rex?"

"Gene therapy."

Fives took a step forward. The clones always smarted at the use of the word _gene_ and _therapy_ in the same sentence.

"Captain?"

"It's all right Fives. Gem set up this lab in an attempt to locate the gene manipulation responsible for the ageing process in all of us."

"What?"

"Gem and Dr Boll would _acquire_ the equipment and get Reed to transport it here. They began the research but eventually drew a blank."

"Sinover Boll? The doctor who kept that Zillo beast alive on Corrie?"

"One and the same."

"Why?" Ahsoka's curiosity concerning the young representative had been piqued. She had never thought of Gem as being one who had an agenda other than that of the Senate. The fact that she had taken it upon herself to help the soldiers right under the Republic's nose demonstrated a tenacity she never would have given her credit for.

"Well for starters, Jango's dead. Sinover had plenty of the altered DNA from all of us, but she needed the original template to locate the genetic sequence that was altered so she could literally, switch it off."

"_Fek_, if they could do that, we could live for another twenty years!"

"Twenty? I was thinking more like another forty!" Rex laughed. "Anyway," he said looking at the equipment and flimsie work strewn over the benches, "it's no longer an option. Gem's dream died along with her."

There it was.

An acknowledgement.

Tash inwardly smiled. Rex had come along way from the angry man who alighted off a speeder three months earlier.

So there they all stood. Silently looking over the clinical white equipment, their minds all thinking over the conversation and the woman who dared make a difference. The promise of a full life, whist tempting, was now virtually impossible.

But what came next was even more unexpected.

"You're wrong Rex."

Three words that only one would dare say.

"Ahsoka?" Rex questioned.

"We _can get_ the original DNA."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Remember that mission to Scillal Rex? You were there too Fives. The scar on your thigh? Think Rex, _think," _she implored.

Rex looked confused, his brow furrowing in thought until it all came rushing back. Along with the memory came a huge smile.

"It's all coming back isn't it?"

"Loud and clear."

Rex had all but forgotten the mission to Scillal. He had stored it amongst the others that required an afternoon dip in bacta. But then he remembered the meeting with the man who slashed his thigh open to all and sundry. He was rendered unconscious but his bucket had recorded the entire event. Following his recuperation he had sought out Ahsoka, and she had explained everything.

"Care to share?" Fives hated being the last to know anything.

"While you and Anakin were off downloading the shipyards information, Rex and I came across an interesting local inhabitant."

"Yeah, _real _interesting."

"This reeks of trouble," Fives couldn't help but be drawn in.

"I couldn't believe it myself, he was just like the both of you. I mean, he WAS you."

"_Whoa whoa whoa!_ Hang on! If I remember correctly, that was a light sabre injury Rex?"

Both Ahsoka and Rex looked at one another knowingly.

"Yes," Rex said cautiously, "it was."

"_It was_," Ahsoka repeated slowly, "because he was attacked by a Jedi. And it was only when I returned to Coruscant and did some research that it all fell into place."

"That's it! No more riddles, just out with it." Rex could tell Fives was becoming increasingly annoyed with the _toing_ and _froing_ of the conversation.

"He was _Jango-Fett's-identical-twin_ brother."

"Come again?"

"You heard Fives," Rex continued, "Jango had a twin, that was removed from his parents by the Jedi Order just after his birth on _Concord Dawn_."

"I think I need to sit." Fives looked around and hobbled over to a chair. "Did you just say Corellia?"

Fives felt the blood run from his face. The ARC may have appeared _lassaire fair_ regarding his heritage but in reality he was fiercely proud of his Mandalorian ancestry.

It was the one thing all the men produced _en mass_ could identify with. In a world where they were merely created to fight an unwinnable war there had been a culture, a language that was wholly _theirs_.

Until now, it seemed.

"I'm not even sure Jango knew about his brother Fives," Ahsoka could feel his anxiety levels rise.

"That's it, this can't be real."

"It is Fives," Rex said putting his arm on his friends shoulder.

Fives looked him in the eye. The arrival of Rex had been nothing short of a miracle for the former special forces soldier.

"_Fekking Concordian?_"

"'Fraid so. But it doesn't matter, not now. Jango considered himself _Mando'a_, he had no reason to think other."

It had been an afternoon of revelations, but with it came hope.

"Well," Fives felt his colour along with his strength return, "I guess that means we have a new objective sir?"

"Yep," Rex beamed, "you up to it?"

"Copy that."

"Rex?" Ahsoka could see the old spark in his eyes.

"We need to find a ship. We've got to go back to Scillal."

.

Gem looked at the diminishing credits on the bed.

"I need to get a job, we can't survive long term on this."

Jesse walked over and looked at the small pile of gold and copper tokens. She was right; they had spent more than two thirds of the meagre amount Olphina had given them when they left Coruscant.

"I noticed a sign in the cantina down the road advertising for a dishwasher. I'm going to head down there and see if it's been taken."

"I'll do it," Jesse whispered.

"No, you're too recognisable."

Jesse was disappointed that he couldn't pay his way.

He felt as though he had swapped one prison for another. Just like Fox's lock-up on Coruscant, Jesse felt disempowered to do anything that could contribute to their collective wellbeing. The thought of all the gold credits sitting in the bottom of his footlocker only compounded matters.

"Once we get enough, we can buy our passage to Oriis."

Jesse couldn't help but smile at her seemingly regained enthusiasm for life.

It was still there after all; simmering just under the surface.

Hope.


	31. Chapter 31

**Thirty**

* * *

The Expansion Region

Umbara

46.5 hours after deployment.

.

Waxer strode with purpose, dodging other men, there was no mistaking his anger.

"Stupid _di'kut_," he was heard to mutter as he pulled the awning across and entered the field medical ward, scanning the rows of wounded, looking for one in particular.

And there he was.

Clad only in the top half of his body suit, Boil was sitting upright and giving the on duty medic a hard time.

Waxer couldn't help but smile.

This was Boil at his best.

And worst.

"So it's true?" he said as he quickly leaned forward and brushed his lips over Boil's forehead.

"Yeah, can you believe it?"

"What I can't believe is that you're on report for an _unprovoked attack_ on the AT-AP driver!"

"He asked for it! Backing up that _shabuir_ of a thing on the top of me!"

"Dragged him down on one leg I hear?"

"Yeah, that's him over there," Boil said and cocked his head to the left. Waxer followed his line of sight and was initially horrified to see a trooper with his face covered in bandages and bacta patches.

"Well, if my campaigns over due to _his_ stupidity, so is his."

He then laughed and Waxer joined him in his mirth. He could never stay angry at him for very long. Boil may have been hot headed, but he was fiercely protective of his unit and took his role in the war seriously.

And then there was their special bond, the one that had seen them through the ups and downs over the past two years, together.

Always together.

For all intents and purposes Boil looked fine but when Waxer's eyes wandered down his right leg, he noticed it was hidden under a plethora of bacta and ice.

"Completely blown. All four ligaments. They'll reconstruct it back on Coruscant."

"Does it hurt?"

"Only if I move."

Boil looked around. The makeshift medical centre was full to the brim with men injured during their most bitter battle to date. All would be evac'd as soon as planets surface was under full Republic control.

When that was going to be was anyone's guess.

Kenobi and Commander Cody were being hauled over the coals by the brass over their tardiness in not capturing the Umbaran capitol sooner. But what they hadn't expected was an army of humanoids with some of the most advanced weaponry they had ever seen.

Waxer had just come from a debriefing and felt optimistic for the first time since hitting dirt. There were still pockets of Umbaran holdouts though, causing more headaches for their Republic counterparts.

They had been more than worthy opponents for the 212th.

And the 501st apparently.

Boil stopped feeling sorry for himself for a moment to take in his lover's full appearance.

"You're heading back out?"

It was obvious.

Waxer was in full kit; he hadn't even bothered remove his rifle from over his shoulder.

"Yep, just got new intel. Krell has reported a group of rouge Umbarans wearing stolen 501st armour. Opportunistic _shabuirs._ I am taking a platoon out in 5. I have to say, I'm kinda looking forward to showing _these_ cerulean brothers how it's done in the 212th. Think I will even mark them on my armour in 501st blue, just to remind them how good our aim is."

"Copy that."

Waxer blew out a long breath and leaned forward, planting a searing kiss on Boils mouth, hovering just a moment longer he whispered, "don't cause any more trouble."

"Stop worrying will ya?"

"I'll stop by when we get back."

Boil grabbed his hand and held it tight, "for Numa."

"Always."

It was their personal message to each other.

Boil reluctantly let go and watched as Waxer silently set his chrono. He then stood to leave the tent, giving a quick salute to the on duty medic, "keep an eye on this one."

"Will do lieutenant."

As he went to leave he turned and flashed Boil the most enormous of smiles.

Boil didn't know it then, but it would be the last time he would see his best friend.

And chosen life partner.

It would be an image he would call on over and again, closing his eyes and reliving that perfect moment, never allowing Waxer's smile to diminish or wane.

Boil flung his head back onto the pillow after taking a look at the poor bastard he brutalised in the bed down the way.

If it weren't for him, he would be marching out there too, killing more of the filthy shadow people who had the audacity to…

_Wait a sec!_

Boil's eyes opened in an instant.

_Umbarans wearing Republic uniforms? That's impossible!_

Boil sat bolt upright and swung his legs off the cot.

"Argh!" His right knee had other plans.

"Wait," he yelled at the top of his voice, alarming the med team in the tent and waking some of the other patients, "wait, Waxer! Wait!"

"Are you in pain?" The medic came rushing over to help place him back down on the bed.

"Get off me!" he screamed before continuing, "they're too tall! The Umbarans are too tall for our armour! WAXER!"

"Get me a sedative over here a-sap."

"What? NO!"

Boil had to act and fast, with all the energy he could muster he sent the medic flying across the room.

"I need help over here," came the reply from the floor and a team of men came as if from nowhere to hold Boil down while a hypo was unceremoniously jabbed in his neck.

Boil couldn't move; no one was listening to him as he continued to yell obscenities at the medical staff.

But it was too late.

The jibberish he was talking had been perceived as pain or delayed shock. He never got the chance to explain himself or get a communiqué out to Waxer.

"No,' Boil mumbled as the pharma's began to take effect.

"They're too tall," he said as his eyes closed, "they're just too …"

.

Boil dressed as if for any other shift. He thought about taking a few things he knew would fit down into his armour; a toy that was once Numa's, Waxer's handkerchief and a green crystal they had found together on the surface of Ischbar.

All items that were individually worthless but collectively held so many memories they had become priceless to the pair.

But they were no longer a pair.

He was alone and about to leave Coruscant and the army forever.

It didn't matter to him whether they managed to escape or not.

This was it, either way he wasn't coming back.

He looked at the array of items and closed the locker. It was time to move on, without Waxer and without the farce the Empire had become.

"Heads up." Chopper knocked twice on the architrave and disappeared.

It was time for him to as well.

.

.


	32. Chapter 32

**Thirty One**

* * *

"That's him, over there," Ahsoka whispered as she handed the macros over to Rex. She then rolled onto her back and stared up at him as he scanned the man they had travelled a long distance to find.

She could clearly see the small scar on his chin and wanted nothing more than to reach over and touch it.

Rex suddenly became aware of her proximity almost directly under him and smiled as he looked back down at her. It had been seven months since their arrival back on Oriis and while nothing could diminish the feelings he once shared with Gem, Ahsoka could sense the shift in his manner towards her.

It was a glimmer of hope.

She never mentioned _her_ name, knowing full well Rex kept that part of his grief to himself. But just like the change of season, the sun was beginning to thaw his frozen heart.

"Fascinating," he said as he looked her over. Ahsoka couldn't help but reciprocate the warmth that he was finally willing to share.

"Ah cap, we have movement in the house."

The spell was broken as quickly as it was cast, leaving the Togrutan breathless on her back. Rex was acutely aware of the effect he had on her, and she had made it clear at the end of their relationship back on Coruscant that she had regretted her decision to let him go.

But like the former Jedi Master, Rex was a patient man, and secretly he enjoyed seeing her struggle emotionally.

It was something he said would always bring the Jedi undone; not being able to recognise the need for a physical partner.

Unlike the soldiers.

"Steady on," his voice still held the authority and calm it had always done when they served together and Ahsoka shook her head quickly to regain some clarity.

The screen door whizzed open and a small child bound through, heading straight into Stoyan's arms.

"Fives," Rex said low down the comm, "you're our eyes down there."

"Copy that." Fives was at the southern aspect of the property, closer to the house and held up behind a tree. "I can make out another figure inside the house. Suggest we sit tight for him to exit also."

"You say the word Fives and we'll - ," but Rex never did finish the sentence as the third person came out into full view on the verandah.

One, none of them, least of all Fives, were prepared to see.

.

If Niner thought that Rede was their biggest problem, he was sadly mistaken.

The lost commando that wanted to go home was a major headache.

They hadn't factored his ability to find them and then his brazenness of approaching their camp.

Niner needed time to think and work through the ramifications of returning back to Coruscant with this commando and minus their unit brother. A series of events had been put in place, one there was no foreseeable coming back from.

And every minute that ticked by was leaving them open to Imperial interpretation. The tracking system was now dismantled, and both Niner and Darman knew they would have to replace it if they were to take off and head home.

"I have no business with what when on back there. You have my word."

Another admission, a reminder of Niner's guilt.

The sarge was on a knife-edge, and Darman could see it by the way he was standing. Backed into a corner, he knew Niner would be thinking about fighting his way out, and right then, it looked to be their only option.

Darman was up for it. He was now fuelled by the decision to go, and nothing was going to stand in his way, especially after clipping the younger soldier on the back of the head and finishing the job with his vibroblade.

This guy was one of them, a commando who had been raised different to the regular soldiers.

It would be a tough fight, if it came to it.

Niner threw his gear down onto the ground as a display of frustration more than anything else.

He was losing it, the tether he had on everything was about to break.

"You see," he said as he sat heavily next to the equipment he and Darman had just ripped from the craft, "we have a problem of sorts now. We weren't intending to go back. Ever."

"I figured that as well."

"Things have changed back on Coruscant, we, you wouldn't know the place now the Empire has taken control."

"I'm not stupid, I see the vision, read the articles on the holonet. But I made a promise to someone that I intend to keep. I never asked to be left out here, I almost got back too. Look, we have to work out a way. I'll go off the grid once I'm there, to them I'm dead already. I just need to be dropped in."

Darman blew out a loud breath to register his disdain at this soldiers new mission, one that was _fekking_ up his own.

But wouldn't he have done the same up until just recently?

"Come on Dar, it's not like we haven't been here before?"

Darman shot him a look, "that was different and you know it."

"No it wasn't, we were about to leave the night it went down and we would have if - ,"

"If what?" he spat back, "go on say it!"

Niner thought hard for a second, he wanted to scream, 'if Etain had of just done what she was _fekking_ ordered,' but he knew he couldn't, wouldn't ever say what they both knew to be true.

So he told the other truth, the one he had to live with every day.

"If I hadn't fallen."

Darman stopped his rampage, his chest plate heaving as he tried to regain some control.

He knew better than that. Niner had beaten himself up daily that it was his fault Darman never left that night with Atin.

His only thoughts in the hospital were to make it his mission to get Dar back with his son.

Where he belonged.

"I need to speak to Kal," he said looking at Darman, "he'll know what to do."

"I know what he's going to say," Darman said with raised eyebrows.

Niner lent down and picked up his helmet, placing it over his head and tuning into the secure channel that had been programmed by the group on Coruscant.

Darman looked over at Gregor; he genuinely felt sorry for him. He had nothing against the guy, it's just returning this soldier so he could shack up with some woman didn't fit into any of his plans.

Darman grabbed the tracking devise and began to unscrew the housing.

Just in case.

"OK," Niner took the bucket off, "this is how it's going to go." He looked straight into Gregor's eyes and spoke clearly, so there would be no misinterpretation of anything that he was about to say.

.


	33. Chapter 33

**Thirty Two**

* * *

"Are you seeing this?" Fives couldn't believe his eyes as he began to move out from his vantage spot.

"Stand down Fives," Rex said gravely. He had seen the man also and he knew it had to be a clone, although, there was something odd about his appearance.

Fives had seen it as well, but unlike Rex, he knew exactly who he was looking at.

Standing out from behind the tree he made his presence known.

"Fives!" Rex yelled down the comm.

Ahsoka kept her eyes fixed on the Jedi, having dealt with him in the past she was more concerned how he would react at their intrusion, for a second time.

"He's on to us," she said slowly as Stoyan turned in her direction.

Then, the familiar surge of adrenaline.

.

_They had taken just over one standard month to set their plan in to action._

_"Fives," Tash cooed one night after making love, "you aren't serious about going on this trip with Rex are you?"_

_He knew what she was really saying._

_"I mean, the odds of you finding this man are remote at best, and well, just the trip itself," she stammered, "you're both not as fit as you once were."_

_Fives continued to stroke her hand before he brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it._

_"Rex may not be in peak physical fitness Tash, but he's strong again. Mind, as well as body."_

_"But Fives," she implored._

_"I hear you alright?"_

_Fives rolled over and faced the other direction._

_Tash knew that the conversation was now, well and truly over._

_She was satisfied that her point had been taken into consideration, even if she did feel bad outlining the obvious, especially when Fives had worked so hard over the past 4 weeks._

_If the truth be told, Fives was just as nervous as she was about heading out on a new mission._

_In the not so distant past, he would think nothing of it. Grabbing his gear along with his orders, as a soldier he knew no better._

_But he now had limits; he couldn't push his body as he had done in the past. There was no bacta to fix whatever lay in front of them. Fives sighed as he closed his eyes, knowing he too, would have to have that talk with Rex in the morning._

_._

_"Listen Fives, as an ARC, your surveillance skills are second to none. We need your eyes on this. If I had any doubt of your ability, I would have said so before now." He placed both hands squarely on the ARC's shoulders, "but I understand if you want to stay behind with the girls."_

_In saying the girls, he meant Tash and Piia._

_It was then Fives saw the glint in his old captains eye and he knew what Rex had said was true. _

_He had no other option._

_One last mission to save them all from an early grave._

_He owed it to Rex._

_Tash on the other hand wasn't so understanding. Her sarcasm and acerbic wit something the three had to endure on a daily basis._

_"You mean to tell me," she said over the dinner table, "the three of you, two clones and a Togrutan Jedi, are going to fly to Scillal, undetected, find this guy, who, need I remind you, doesn't want to be found, and just, ask him for his DNA?"_

_Rex, Fives and Ahsoka stopped eating and let the woman have her rant._

_"ARE YOU ALL INSANE?" Tash screeched and her chair fell back as she stood._

_Ahsoka having none of her psychological mumbo jumbo looked at the men seated and replied chirpily, "yep."_

_"What are the odds?" Tash blurted out._

_"We've have worst, haven't we Rex?" Fives never felt so alive._

_"But you're not fit, young men anymore!"_

_"Listen Tash," Fives stated, "it's just simple recon. No going in lasers blazing, and Ahsoka and Rex have met him once before."_

_"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot," she looked directly at Rex as she spoke, "that ended real well didn't it?" _

_Rex nodded thoughtfully, then replied._

_"The main thing is, that we found him once. And we have a chance, I'd be the first to admit it's slim, to have a second chance."_

_Silence._

_Rex did have a way with words, and Tash could now see why the men always looked up to him._

_"But what if you get caught?" She could feel tears prick her eyes._

_"Then, we'll deal with it. Just like we did in the past."_

_She knew she was defeated, once the men had set their mind to something, there was no persuading them otherwise. So while Rex and Fives worked out, attempting to gain back their youth, stupid pride and some muscle tone, she quietly bought three return passages to Scillal._

_The main passenger terminal was nowhere near the Shipyards that Fives and Skywalker had broken into during the war, but through his meticulous research Fives had discovered that the ship-building corporation were currently committed to a large contract for the Empire._

_It was vital intel._

_They would need to keep a wide berth of the yards for fear of being discovered, heading south to the vicinity in which they had landed some eighteen months earlier. Once there, they would lay low, keeping to the outer village limits, watching market places and cantina's._

_They all knew a man like the one they were after was a master at going about his business unnoticed._

_._

_Once dirt side, they worked in perfect unison._

_They kept a steady pace, and although Rex had thoughts about Fives slowing them down, his inclusion had payed off ten fold when he managed to squirrel information regarding the lost Jedi from a slightly inebriated lady over a drink late one night._

_"She thought I was someone else," he rushed out as he limped into their makeshift camp in the forest._

_"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, obviously confused._

_"Well, she thought I was his son. She kept banging on about how I stood her up. Seemed real annoyed I never got back to her apparently," Fives flashed a knowing smile and Rex couldn't help but laugh._

_"There's no doubt about you Fives. But one things for certain, we need to keep on our toes, there could be Imperial troopers impersonating as civilians." They all sat silent as Fives shuddered from the cold. Rex stood and placed a hypothermal wrap around his shoulders, "you should get some kip. Need a shot?"_

_"No, the alcohol will do the trick tonight," he yawned as he moved over towards his swag, still wrapped in the shiny material. Rex helped him down to the ground again, knowing that this trip was beginning to take its toll physically on Fives._

_"Is he okay?" Ahsoka asked as Rex returned to the fire._

_"He'll be right," he lied as he wrapped his hands around his shig for warmth._

_He looked over at Ahsoka._

_She had proven herself time and again. It all became clear to Rex then._

_Whatever they had been through during the course of the war, the reason he was created, even though it was found to be a lie, was for the greater good._

_The Jedi, however ill equipped, really did try to make a difference, but their naivety had cost them the victory they so rightly deserved._

_She spoke first, continuing to look into the flickering light, "he's still here Rex, I can sense it."_

_He remained quiet, he trusted her ability with the Force and knew they would find the man who would change their lives again._

_._

_They continued forward, the turn in the weather and Fives' disability had significantly slowed them down._

_"Move on. Without me," Fives said one morning when his joints just wouldn't cooperate with the rest of his aching body._

_"That's a negative soldier," Rex said helping him to his feet. He then packed up his friend's kit and waited for Ahsoka to move forward._

_"Relax Fives and let me help," she said as she took some of his weight through the Force._

_"No, Commander, you'll give our position away."_

_"Just for a little while Fives, I feel we haven't far to travel today."_

.

"We're surrounded!"

Echo looked at the man who had moved out from behind the large tree. He ascertained from the angle he was standing at that he could take him down in a flash.

This man, standing in dirty, wet civilian clothing was injured, but the priority wasn't the hunched over figure in front of him, it was the unknown amount of men lurking behind.

He moved forward so fast Fives didn't have time to brace himself for the physical impact.

Ripping him around and pulling his arms tight behind his back, Fives yelped at the degree of roughness that was used, but nothing more than he would have done in his prime.

He felt Echo's breath hot against his neck. A sob escaped as Fives closed his eyes to the exquisite pain of finding Echo alive, setting in play a gambit of emotions, all of which rendering him unable to talk to the one person, _the only person in the Universe,_ he wanted to listen.

Then the sound that brought more hot tears streaking down his cheeks, "who'd ya bring huh? How many more? Tell me before I snap your neck just for the hell of it."

Fives had to gain some clarity and fast. He of all people knew what a trained, fit ARC was capable of.

He cleared his throat, "five oh first." With the numbers came another tug at his arms, "_argh_," he cried out.

"You mean _Vader's First_," Echo hissed in his ear. "If you have a number you'd better spill it quick soldier."

""ARC trooper."

"Ohhh, got me an ARC have I?" There was a level of malevolence Fives had never heard in Echo's voice before, and it scared him, "well, the Empire must be all out of Fett if they're deploying the likes of - "

[crack]

The sound of skull contacting with cartilage was unmistakable and for a millisecond Echo lessened his grip, but Fives was too weak from the exertion to move away completely and was quickly pulled back into the ARC's stronghold.

"Nice try," he said as he sniffed up blood, "let's try this again, shall we?"

With everything he had remaining, Fives spoke quietly,"5555."

Time seemed to stand still.

It was like a vacuum, sucking all the air momentarily, leaving in its wake only ringing silence in his ears.

Fives felt dizzy from the pain and Echo swayed slightly before he thrust the captive in his arms forward onto the damp earth in front of him.

Taking a step back he looked at the crumpled man lying on the ground.

Fives began to cough, and once the cool air caught in his throat he was unable to stop until the spasm finished.

Echo took a step forward, his voice cracking as he yelled out the order, _"STATE YOUR DESIGNATION SOLDIER!"_

"ARC [breath] trooper [cough] 55 [breath] 55."

"What?" Echo's hands grabbed his head in confusion, as he began turning in circles, he felt like ripping every hair out in frustration. "Now? _YOU COME TO FIND ME NOW?"_

Fives regained composure and turned to look at Echo, "we didn't know you'd be here."

The look of incredulity was replaced by blankness. Echo continued to stare at Fives who was attempting, unsuccessfully to get up.

"_Ner vod_," he said holding his arm up.

"I HAVE NO BROTHERS!" Echo's chest was heaving as the realisation of just who was lying in front of him registered. Then the movement on his left as another ghost from his past stepped into sight.

"Stand down trooper," Rex said in a controlled tone.

Rex moved forward slowly, his arms raised in front of him, "I am going to help this man to his feet," he said as he bent down and hauled Fives off the cold ground.

Echo remained riveted to the spot, and Rex could tell by his stance he was wound tight, ready to fight without a seconds notice.

"_JUST WHAT THE FEK IS GOING ON HERE?" _Echo's eyes were wild, frantically seeking out Stoyan for guidance.

But another Jedi appeared. "State your designation for the record," it was Ahsoka, taking control.

Echo laughed hysterically, "I am long gone from those days Commander."

Rex swung around, with Fives limp in his arms, his mouth open finally in recognition.

"Oh what the_ fek_," he stood straight, his eyes forward, "for the record, ARC trooper 21-0408," before he spat out vehemently, "_Ma'am."_

_._


	34. Chapter 34

**Thirty Three**

* * *

Niner couldn't think straight.

He thought he had focussed and listened to the plan Ordo had constructed, but it still didn't register.

"_Ah_, Ordo," he said tentatively, "you think you could go over that again?"

"_Fek_ Niner! What's wrong with you?" Ordo shouted back down the line.

Ordo was clearly annoyed at Niner's apparent lack of concentration.

What he didn't know, was that this seasoned commando sergeant was hanging precariously on the edge.

_Of what_?

He himself wasn't quite sure.

Then the voice that brought with it, a surge of emotions.

"Hey _Ner'ika_," Kal said, "you doing alright there?"

"I -," he stammered, "_I_ don't know sarge," he was honest, "I'm just tired, I guess," he said as his voice trailed off.

Kal could hear it, the exhaustion, frustration and anxiety of what they had planned for so long.

Freedom.

He knew Niner better than anyone. "Well, that's alright then son, I'll put Ordo back on, and he'll go through the plan one more time." He waited a second before he continued, "you've got this. You know that?"

"It's just, well, last _time -"_

_Last time._

The sight of Etain on the bridge, the fall; Darman's heartbreak.

Suddenly his shoulders felt heavy again.

"I know son. But _this time,_ we won't fail."

"Copy that Kal."

.

The tracking device had been disabled and both Darman and Niner had cut the chips out of their forearms, the floor of the flight deck was littered with blood drops as they hastily bandaged their arms and regrouped.

Niner had packed up the site, but had become quiet after the dressing down from Ordo back on Mandalore.

Darman knew Niner was struggling with Rede.

It was getting to him.

It wasn't that Niner had disliked the young Sparti clone; it had been nothing more than geography, wrong place at the wrong time.

_Fek,_ they were trained to make the hard calls, but this time was different.

_Killing a man because he was guilty of being nothing more than a good soldier._

Collateral damage.

As hard as Niner tried to busy himself with the evac, he couldn't push the nagging question aside; how would Rede have reacted?

He'd never know.

He simply, never asked.

Finding CC-5576-39 had shifted them all slightly off kilter.

So now, here they all were, two brothers desperate to get free of the new regime and one willing to sacrifice everything, _including them_, to get back to it.

And with their microchips out, smashed between two rocks, for all intents and purposes Niner and Darman were off the grid.

Just another two numbers to add to the ever increasing tally.

It was just a matter of seeing one last mission through and then they could really disappear, go grey; become no one.

Niner had specifically not reported in since landing on the surface of Abafar for the sole purpose that if things didn't go to plan there would be no point of reference for the Empire to use against them.

_If things didn't go to plan._

There was irony staring at you.

Nothing _ever_ went to plan, and Niner was sick and tired of always being right, always having to have a contingency.

They were now physically lost to the Empire, but in reality, they had mentally packed up the night everything went south. But here they were again, fooling the Empire and flying in cold under their nose and deliver the rogue commando. Immediately after seeing Gregor to the designated drop zone Niner would plug the coordinates stored in his bucket and leave for Paqualls III where he and Darman would await repatriation to Mandalore.

That's when Niner would allow himself to relax.

_That's when the war would finally be over._

Darman was obviously furious.

Stomping around the sight, letting Niner know in no uncertain terms that he was pissed as ever about the deviation back to the core world. Niner on the other hand saw this as pay back; redemption for the order on Rede.

_Rede._

_Again._

_Always._

The thought made him physically sick, and Dar caught him heaving round the back of the craft near the refuelling hatch.

"You good _Ner'ika_?"

Niner wiped his mouth and nodded, "crook rashy," he said and forced a smile. Darman saw it then, the stress etched under Niner's eyes.

Up until that moment Darman had only ever thought about _himself_.

Sure he had come up with the plan to get a ship and head off world and go Jedi hunting at the expense of Kal, but this mission had changed things. During his own selfish indulgence, he never once considered Niner.

As long as he could remember the sarge had always been there for him. Niner had taken charge of the newly formed Omega when they had no other choice than to regroup after the disaster that was the first battle of Geonosis. Kal had seen it in him, right from the beginning, even as a kid. Niner had an innate ability to read any given situation and with a level head act on it, see it through. He had been the perfect choice as leader.

_Good old Niner, the sarge, our rock._

To his recollection, Niner had never sought a relationship outside Omega, his entire life had been devoted to his unit brothers.

They were _his _only family.

It was now time for Darman to step up.

"We'll do this _Ner'ika_, and then you'll never have to eat that _osik_ ever again. It'll be nerf steaks from now on brother."

"I'll look forward to that," Niner said as he placed his hand quickly on Darman's shoulder, "come on, let's get this done so we can get you home to that boy of yours."

Darman grabbed his hand before he removed it, "_your_ home too brother."

Niner smiled, and for just a second things didn't seem so insurmountable.

Unfortunately CC-5576-39 had other ideas.

.

"Commander Fox," the young lieutenant stood as straight as a pin.

"At ease," he replied as he continued to lead the small political entourage on board the diplomatic yacht, her red stripes the same colour as the armour he wore.

_But not for much longer._

He couldn't help but smile within the confines of his helmet. They had made the decision to leave together. Not to Oriis, but to Minora. There they would disappear and begin a new life, one day at a time. He promptly dismissed her two hand maidens and sent the political escort back to their stations.

They didn't need to involve anyone else in their subterfuge.

There would be ramifications, Fox knew that. As soon as they were clear of the Empires prying eyes he knew what he had to do. Head into the cockpit, take care of the pilot and set the nav to their new destination.

He had never been so excited.

"You have clearance lieutenant. Take her up," he said into the internal comm as he clipped himself into the seat.

"Sir," the pilot stammered back, "I was unaware that you would be joining us."

Fox looked at Olphina. Her recent weeks on Coruscant had taken their toll, for that he was in no doubt. Gone was the regal air of nobility she once wore with pride, and in its place was a worn down and broken woman.

For that, he would never forgive the Empire.

They had taken everything from him now.

And this was his last stand – with the woman he loved.

Fox had no loose ends, every order and communiqué had been double checked as always, every shift had been accounted for.

It was done, he was done.

He leaned forward and smiled at Olphina, depressing the comm button, "l'll be personally escorting the Senator back to Oriis."

Silence.

"Copy that Commander. Commencing take off sequence." Slowly they felt the craft lift off the tarmac on Coruscant, both lost in their own thoughts as they stared at the mass of buildings that was the worlds perpetual skyline.

"I never thought I'd see this day," he whispered as the ship gained momentum. Olphina nodded, her passion for politics had gone along with her position within the Senate after the night that saw her fighting for her sanity.

And all the time, when she thought she was truly lost to the despair, he had been by her side.

Initially it had been the little things; cups of _shig,_ meals and organising her household staff. Then she became aware of his true strength, listening to her recounting the meeting with the Emperor followed by her attack.

And she loved him all the more for it.

This would be a new start, one where she could hope that soon, they could return to the loving couple they once had been.

Away from the army, the Empire and the deceit that had now infiltrated it's way into the very ethos she had attempted to change. She thought she could make a difference, but now she knew that the credits she had thrown into the war on behalf of her home world had funded a tyrannical maniac.

As the ship moved out into space they relaxed and Fox lifted her hand up to his mouth and kissed it, happy for the first time in his life. Suddenly the ship lurched to the left and Fox heard the pilot yelling from the cockpit, "they have missile lock, repeat, they have missile lock."

Fox's eyes shot to Olphina.

They both knew what would happen next.

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you

For a thousand year

Love you for a thousand more[6].

[6] A Thousand Years. C Perri.

AN: This story is now officially on holiday hiatus. I am off to the UK for 6 weeks and I don't have time to work on the next few chapters. So long Commander Fox - pay back for Five's, nah, not everyone can have a happy ending... See all 5 of you in October... Ms CT-782


	35. Chapter 35

**Thirty Four**

* * *

"Can you explain this?"

Switch looked nervous as he looked through the flimsie work that Jon had placed in front of him.

He saw the list of log in's and knew exactly what was being asked.

Jon sighed, already bored with his new project, "look, I don't give a rats if you're trying to find your boyfriend. I've been given this audit and I need to account for every entry."

"It's not for me!" Switch rushed out, "It's for someone else."

"Who?"

"No one," his eyes avoided contact.

Jon tasted blood.

"Who?"

"I can't say, I promised I wouldn't tell."

Jon was intimidating. Good looking and as tall as the clone he was questioning; Switch knew this day was coming. He'd begged Jakline to stop, and by the look on the registrar's face in front of him, she must have continued to use his password long after she had been asked not to.

"Tell me everything, and I'll make it all go away."

.

"What the _fek_ was that?" The sound of a laser being discharged alerted the two at the back of the ship.

They were unprepared; coming out for their last check, they were less than two minutes from take off. Unarmed, they had somewhat foolishly left their weapons inside along with the top half of their armour and helmets.

_They were amongst their own after all._

It was a fundamental mistake that would cost Niner and Darman everything.

They both stood in shock as Gregor continually fired at the ground.

"He's lost it," Darman said cautiously as Niner took a step forward, lifting his hands up so as not to startle the other elite trooper.

"You alright there brother?"

They noticed the discharge light and couldn't fathom what in the world he was doing. Darman had scanned the immediate area; there was no danger, no intruder, _nothing_ in the vicinity.

"Yes," Gregor stated. He seemed to hesitate for a second, his shoulders slumped slightly and Niner stupidly relaxed before Gregor turned and pointed his DC-17M at them and fired two successive pulses.

.

Gregor dragged their bodies next to Rede. He had retrieved all their gear from the cockpit and placed it next to their prone bodies. He felt a level of irony as he looked at the three lying on the ground in a neat row next to one another.

There was a moment, a split second when he had wavered.

Then he regained control.

He knew what he had to do and he wasn't about to risk _them_ expelling _him_ over some other God forsaken planet _en route_ to _their_ new destination. He didn't trust them, which in the past would have been unheard of, but now, after the neglect from his _so-called_ brothers, he knew better.

He had the perfect personality for a commando.

He could make the hard calls.

And this just proved it.

He didn't care that the Republic had been dissolved and that some lunatic was now running the show back on Coruscant.

Sith, Jedi; to Gregor they were one and the same. Freaks, zealots, call them what you want, it didn't matter, he had his own agenda, one he was determined to see through.

_A promise._

He strapped himself into the seat and plugged in the coordinates that had been etched into his subconscious as a toddler.

He scoffed back a laugh at how easy it had been.

He was better than all of them put together.

.

"Was there any particular event that made you an arse hole, or were you just born that way?" Jakline was furious. Switch had been transferred out of emergency to physical therapy and she knew Jon was somehow behind it.

"Top of the morning to you too Jaks; got out of the wrong side of the bed I see."

"I know you had something to do with Switch being transferred, I'll get to the bottom of it. This isn't finished, not by a long shot."

"You do that," Jon said as he quickly stood and glared her square in the eye, "and when you do," he almost spilled the beans, then he regained his self control. "And when you do, you get back to me, okay?"

It took every bit of her strength not to slap him square across the face.

"_Fek_ I hate you," she replied.

"Right back at you," she heard him say as he walked off.

He'd won that round, but Jon had more ammunition against his immediate supervisor.

One he would have no hesitation in using.

When the time was right.

And due to a cruel twist of fate, that time was coming.

Sooner rather than later.

.

"ATC, this is CC-5576-39 requesting permission to land."

The voice, although familiar wasn't friendly.

Gregor could appreciate that. He knew they would be frantically rummaging through the files, looking for his designation and wondering just where this soldier had been for the past eighteen months.

"CC-5576-39. You're requested to hold your current course and await further instructions."

Gregor did as they ordered, before he noticed he had company.

"CC-5576-39, you'll have an escort coming in on your six."

"ATC, copy that," Gregor said as two X wings blipped into view on his systems radar.

'_That was fast.'_

"CC-5576-39, you are required to hold an upwind leg until further notice."

"ATC, affirmative."

It seemed to take them forever to make the decision for him to land. The ships navi computer held him in the holding flight pattern until the word finally came through.

"CC-5576-39, you have clearance to land. Runway 5 Ausch. "

"ATC, runway 5 Ausch. Switching to manual control."

"Copy that CC-5576-39."

'_Welcome home,'_ he mumbled to himself as he prepared to land.

One he secured the ship, Gregor clipped his helmet to his utility belt and held his DC17M high above his head as he walked down the ramp.

He was swamped by a unit of men in white, all pointing their weapons directly at him.

He remained still as two rushed forward and removed his beloved rifle before pushing him into the duracrete floor of the hanger bay.

He was treated roughly; he'd expected it.

What he didn't expect was the pain from his burn contractures.

"Get to your feet soldier and follow us."

Gregor remained silent, playing it by the book, doing as he was ordered, he knew the scenario. Marched back in, with his arms held tight behind him, it was far cry from the dignified welcome he had envisioned.

Then the military juggernaut began; the HQ hoo-ha, questions, answers, meetings, medicals.

More meetings.

Same answers.

One man, he didn't get his name, sat quietly in on all his High Command meetings, until he asked the question, "what happened to the unit who were flying the yacht?"

Gregor wasn't stupid, he knew they would want to know what happened to the commandos. He had time to piece together a plausible scenario.

"They found me, or should I say, I found them; under a bush. A female bounty hunter was at the craft, ripping the tracking system out and looting the ship. I switched my rifle to stun and fired a few rounds. She escaped, bounced right over me. Never seen anyone, other than a Jedi do that in the past."

One of the men leaned over to Melusar, whispering something in his ear while he nodded. They had run diagnostics on his rifle. Gregor had done just what he had said, set off several rounds of stun from his weapon before he left the surface of Abafar for the last time.

"Can you remember what _she_ looked like."

Sure he did, and Gregor would give a detailed description to the comp artist of Asajj Ventress.

He knew she was alive and wanted.

He too, watched the holonet.

.

Stripped naked, he sat on a table angry at being left in such a state. It dawned on him then.

During his time away from the army he had forged a life of his own and he had to unlearn all he had learned. He had found modesty, compassion.

_Desperation._

And it was the latter that made him agitated as he waited for what lay ahead.

He wanted to go to Army Med.

'_She would be there!'_

All of a sudden, what Omega had suggested, a silent drop into the hot zone where he would find his own way back to her didn't sound so bad.

Anything would have been better than this.

The doors swished open and his heart rate rose at the site of the tall creature that had haunted the dreams of his youth entered the sterile room.

He didn't remember much after seeing the Kaminoan scientist and the male doctor other than waking up in a tank.

Gregor always hated the gelatinous non warmth of bacta, the ambient temperature that neither felt hot or cold, bringing with it a familiar, creepy feeling.

All he had to do now was get out of the tank and then he could speak to someone about getting to Jakline. His plan, had inadvertently managed to get him exactly where he needed to be.

Gregor was a cool character, he kept his heart rate deliberately low so as not to alert the monitors and send the alarms ringing. He needed time to think.

He looked around and saw other tanks, filled with men just like him. He then took in the staff.

'_New uniforms?'_

"Doctor, he's awake. Vitals are stable. We are about to drain the tank and pull him out."

"Fine," was the comment, Gregor noticed that the man never looked up from the data pad he was holding.

Once out of the tank he went through the routine, the coughing, the wash down the weakness.

All without saying a word.

He waited.

Dressed in the once forgotten red fatigues, he sat in the room alone and waited. He knew the drill. He only had to state his designation to anyone who wasn't military; he done all his talking to high command.

The silence was something he was used to.

He had to keep it together, it wouldn't be long now.

Her red hair resting on his shoulder had sustained him this long.

'_What's another few hours right?'_

The male doctor then finished tapping away and looked up. With a smile he simply said to the medic next to him.

"He's good to go. He can be transferred immediately."

Jon then waited as CT-5576-39 was escorted from the bacta suite. He then went into the file manager and logged the relevant information against the soldiers designation. All the time humming as he typed.

SAVE.

.

Unbeknownst to Jakline, Switch's password had been changed; she wouldn't be able to log in to the mainframe housing all relevant military information. She would think it nothing more than some technical difficulty.

Jon had planned it perfectly. All he had to do was wait another hour or so, change the password back and wait for his revenge to come to fruition.

And after a quiet morning in the emergency room, Jakline left for lunch.

Jon swivelled his chair over to the main computer terminal and began tapping away until he had successfully changed the password back.

"You want to go for lunch?" She asked as she sat back down with another cup of _caf_.

"Nah, I'm good," he replied as he feigned interest in some article on his tablet. He couldn't leave now; the show was about to begin.

Jakline seized the opportunity to check the list for updates, hoping that the password would work this time.

AUTHORISED ACCESS

"Bingo," she muttered as she began her ritualistic scanning until time all but seemed to stand still.

In slow motion, her _caf_ fell from the table as she read the list of the wounded, lost and dead.

The list had been updated.

CC-5576-39; ACTIVE.

.


	36. Chapter 36

**Thirty Five**

* * *

'_You had to give it to Chopper and Boil. They never missed a beat._

_The two swung into line along with the rest of the newly formed 'Vader's First' as if they belonged there from the very beginning._

_Appo never even knew. He was so wound up the Sith's shebs we could have almost done anything and he wouldn't have noticed._

_We'd made a decision. _

_The decision really._

_Not to tell Sats the plan to defect. In a way, we knew what his answer would have been. He was a true brother, and it wasn't his fault anyway; the cold reality of his blind loyalty to the new regime._

_We'd concluded that what Coric had said was right. _

_Whisk knew it as well. _

_Deep down. _

_Just more genetic manipulation at the hands of the Empire. We really are puppets. It's now or never. Time to make a stand, time to do something._

_We can longer stay._

_Whisk is fading away, emotionally as well as physically. Gaunt from worry, guilt ridden over Sat's._

_It's hard._

_Really hard._

_But Coric is keeping us together._

_Keeping us going; one ubiquitous white boot after another._

_Chopper and Boil were on board from the very beginning. So, when the word was given to meet the transport bringing in supplies, as it had done every month for the past four years, there was no choice other than to follow them through._

_Come what may.'_

.

"Use this comm code. It's an oldie, but a goodie. None of the desk jobs sitting in front of the big box will think to look there."

"Big box?" Whisk asked.

"Communications hub you _di'kut!"_ Chopper was in his element. Even though they were slap bang in the middle of orchestrating deserting their post, he still enjoyed taking the piss out of the two younger men.

"Whisk," Boil said with a calm voice, "just try and keep any comments brief. If they even get a sniff of what's going on, they'll be all over us."

"Here," Coric said handing a small white tablet over to Didge, "break it in half, it'll take the edge off."

Didge knew what it was, he'd had one recently, when things were beginning to take their toll. Coric had taken over watch of the two when Whisk was no longer capable. The sniper's compulsive behaviour had careered to an all time high and he had to wear his gauntlet's lining gloves to hide the traumatised skin covering his hands. Coric had seen the pain written all over his face. Pulling him into the med bay, he was shocked at the state of his hands. Deep cracks, painful swelling and blisters oozing fluid.

"_Ah _Didge," he said soothingly, "why didn't you see me earlier?"

Didge just shook his head and stared down at them, unable to move a finger without wincing.

'_These are my burden to bear.'_

"Come on, we'll put them in bacta for an hour. That should help. Then this cortisol cream, twice daily ok?"

"Sure," Didge mumbled, "sure."

.

Chopper and Boil slid in behind Whisk and Didge. Whisk turned and quickly switched to their private channel.

"What did you do with 79 and 83?"

"Shut the _fek_ up will _ya?_" Chopper hissed.

"Tell me!" He roared down the headpiece.

"What _didn't we do_ with 79 and 83 you mean?"

"Chopper, I swear?"

"Hold onto your panties. We locked them in the 'fresher. They'll be none the wiser as to who when they manage to get out."

Whisk sighed. Every time he thought about leaving and getting free, it came at a cost to a brother.

Someone was always affected.

To be honest, Whisk didn't care whether he got away or not. Leaving Sats behind had proven harder than he initially thought. They were in more mortal danger leaving. With no active war on, Sats would do alright on routine patrols.

But without anyone.

Whisk looked over at Didge and slowed down. Boil was onto him and quickly sidled up next to the young medic, pushing Didge over slightly towards Chopper.

"I got you Whisk, you're with me."

"I'm ok," he shot back.

"Good, you can cover my _shebese_ then."

Didge looked over at Boil as the 212th marched next to Whisk. The seasoned trooper was quiet and kept to himself. Coric had told both Whisk and Didge what had happened on Umbara.

Boil knew loss and the emotional pain that went with it.

He had survived.

'_And so will I.'_

They made sure they were the last group to help with the documentation and unloading of supplies from the transport shuttle. She was a good ship, one that could make it to hyperspace, albeit not as fast as Chopper would have liked. Both he and Coric would pilot the craft once they took control of the bridge.

That meant only one of two things.

They had to convince the pilots out of the cockpit, or kill them.

"Coric?"

"I see them."

They all had and their heart rates acted accordingly, sending the monitor in their buckets ringing.

Another patrol of men moving in fast on their right.

"Easy men. If it's not this month, it's next ok?"

Coric and Chopper went inside as Whisk, Didge and Boil stood guard of the loading ramp.

"Trooper?"

Boil stepped forward and did the talking.

"Sir?"

"Three men guarding the ramp? What is she transporting?"

"Plutonium for fuel cells sir. They think there may have been a small leak. We have a hazmat team on board"

It was quick thinking by Boil and he remained out in front before he casually resumed parade rest. The lieutenant in charge thought for a moment before he waved his group back.

"I'll place two guards at the perimeter, and I'll need hazmat updates as they come to hand."

"Copy that."

The three collectively held their breath as they watched the patrol march off and split into two.

"Boil, get your _shebs_ up here and bring the Rookies with you."

"_Fek_ you Chopper," Whisk said into his bucket.

"All in good time my friend, all in good time," he laughed back.

"Enough of the chit chat gentlemen," the sound of Coric's voice was reassuring.

Things had gone to plan.

It was time to lift off and leave Coruscant.

Forever.

.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rex closed the door silently and looked up at Echo as he leant up against the wall in the darkness.

"He'll be fine Echo. He's just tired. Ahsoka's in there with him now." Rex rolled his neck, listening to the cracking vertebrae, it had been an unusually long day and finding a 'dead' ARC was a surprise he wasn't prepared for.

A pleasant surprise.

"You must be hungry?"

"_Caf_ would be good."

Echo pushed off the wall and lead the way into the kitchen.

Rex watched him as he followed, "by the core Echo, there's something different about you. _I just_, I just can't put my finger on it."

"Taller."

"Is that it?"

"Yes," he didn't elaborate further, and Rex was just too tired to enquire.

He'd find out soon enough.

.

"_Fek!_ Does he always sleep this long?"

Darman shook his head, "no, but he took a full shot to the chest."

"So did you," Ordo commented as he lifted the medi bag over his head and began unpacking, Darman thought he seemed even more annoyed than usual.

He had woken first from the stun shot to the body. Although groggy and sore, he had managed to get to Niner's helmet and send off a code red to the Kyrimorut team.

And now they were here.

To help.

Darman couldn't say anything as he watched Ordo take Niner's vitals.

All his fears had come racing back; and for the first time he allowed himself to relive a memory that up until now, he had pushed to the back of his mind.

For some reason, it felt right.

It was okay for him to feel the loss.

_To just feel._

It was if he could finally take a breath.

_Etain wouldn't mind._

_Would she?_

Ordo and Atin were there, and they were going to take them home.

All Niner had to do, was wake the _fek_ up.

.


	37. Chapter 37

**Thirty Six**

* * *

Jesse quietly disappeared.

The more he was seen in her company the more likely they would get booted from another apartment.

And another job.

So one day, he took an offer up and simply left.

Placing everything he had in the container under the sink, he knew she would have just about enough to buy one passage to Oriis.

In his mind, he felt satisfied that he had done right by her. He now needed to forge a new life for himself. His voice box was as repaired as it ever would be, and if he concentrated enough, he could have a short conversation with someone at just above a whisper.

So, folding his meagre belongings into the back pack, he slung it over his shoulder and closed the door for the last time on that part of his life.

He would succeed.

_Hadn't he done exactly that?_

.

Gem looked around at the mess their apartment was in and knew they had been robbed.

It seems she was destined to wear this albatross for life.

She didn't run to the container they had designated for credits hidden under the sink in the bathroom, she could tell from the disarray that it had been pilfered, the lid strewn haphazardly on the floor.

She felt panic rise as she slowly walked to the dark brown curtain and knelt down on her knees before she tugged at the heavy material. A cry escaped as she lowered her head and wept silently for a few seconds before she regained control and removed the medallion she had sewn into the lining of the hem.

It was still there, hidden safely in the curtain folds as she pulled it out after loosening the stitching.

It was the only thing of _his_ that remained; a token that had brought them together all those years ago.

As she held it close she knew she would do everything in her power to protect it.

.

Niner felt the presence of someone before he could even open his eyes.

He fought hard against the stun shot; he hadn't experienced one for over three years, since the training sims back on Kamino.

The feeling was annoying, but something was different this time. He couldn't quite figure it out. He wasn't sure about the _pressing_ feeling on his chest, like something or someone was sitting on him.

He tried to move.

"You ok there sarge?"

He knew that voice.

_Atin?_

Then another.

"Come on, wake up you lazy _shabiur_."

He couldn't mistake that terse tone.

_Ordo._

_We're safe._

The weight then got heavier and he tried to move again, but his arm ached as well.

"He don't look so good," Darman said.

Ordo huffed and brought out the med scanner. "Anyone'd think he's a woman the way he's acting," he replied as he bent down and scanned his body for the second time.

"Come on Dar, I need to take your vitals again for the record. Leave it with Ordo, he knows what he's doing."

Darman let Atin lead him away until they were both alerted by the sound of Ordo's voice.

"This is Ordo, anyone receiving over."

"Go ahead Ordo. We have you loud and clear."

"Can someone get Mij?"

"What's wrong?" Darman pushed Atin's arm aside as he moved back and crouched down next to Niner.

The Null ignored him as he waited to get Mij on the line.

"This is Mij. What you got Ordo?"

"Niner's tachy. BP's 180 over 90, clammy and unresponsive over."

_"What's wrong with him?"_ Darman yelled, "come on Niner. Wake the _fek_ up!"

"Can you get him away from here," Ordo looked up deadpan at Atin.

"Let him do his job Dar."

"Ordo, listen. Give him two migs of Nitrol and push a bag of fluids." He waited a moment before he continued, "and get him here a-sap."

"Copy that Mij. Ordo out."

Ordo continued to treat Niner. "What the _fek_ were you doing without your weapons anyway," he muttered as he found a vein.

Darman just shook his head. "He was feeling crook. We were about to take off. Niner went out for a hurl. I followed to see if he was alright."

"This Gregor guy, he could have killed you both. Damn near did Niner, he's still in Afib."

Niner felt the cool liquid run through his arm.

"Here," he whispered out. It had taken him all that time to manufacture one word, but it came at blessed relief to the three men watching over him.

Ordo moved in fast, "Niner, you in any pain?"

"Chest."

"We have given you something and we are about to transport you to Mandalore. Do you understand?"

"Darman?"

"I'm here _ner vod_. So is Atin, we've got you. You just hang in there ok."

Niner knew he was in safe hands.

He had done what he had promised her would do.

Darman was finally on his way back to his son.

His job was done and he allowed himself to disappear back in to the darkness.

_My job is done._

.

"I won't do it!"

She was determined. Taking a stand for the first time since she left Coruscant.

"You hear me? I won't!"

"Then pack up your things and get out."

It was a simple ultimatum.

Look after the bounty hunter _personally_, or lose her job.

Gem stood and looked at her boss. He needed her as much as she needed him. Both were only in it for the credits and after losing everything in the robbery, Gem knew there was no way around it. She had to head upstairs and entertain the man sitting in the room that was once Anik's.

"A silver credit then," she had some negotiating skills left and if she were about to do the unthinkable, she wanted to be adequately remunerated for it.

"Bronze. Take it or leave it."

She turned and nodded, keeping her head high as she made her towards the stairs.

"Stand aside boys," the barkeep yelled, "let the Queen of _fekking_ Sheba through," he laughed as he counted out the gold credits that had been given to him for her services that night.

Gem moved past the drunk men that filled the bar. Another freighter loaded with containers and cargo had been dropped off, and Gem knew they were going to be busy for the best part of a week.

She just didn't know she was to be seconded to the seedier side of hospitality.

As she made her way up the stairs, each step felt heavier than the last. She had to do things she never thought possible since leaving Oriis. She had to draw some strength from her past.

The basic instinct to survive was too strong.

She could do it.

She had no choice.

With Jesse gone and the money stolen from the apartment, she was now more broke than ever.

Skylar Gem from Oriis had hit an all time low.

If that was even possible.

Gem stepped around a young boy who sat playing holochess. "Excuse me," she said as she passed.

"Sorry miss," he said as he shuffled out of her way.

"If you're hungry, there's some food in the kitchen. Tell Pix that Gem said you could have some."

"Thanks miss," he said as he quickly gathered up his board and trotted back down the stairs.

Gem stood at the door and took in a deep breath.

'_You can do this,'_ she thought as she opened it and stepped in.

A man sat in the old club chair, with one leg crossed over the other and his arms draped over the brown Bantha hide he looked relaxed.

In control.

Gem then noticed the two weapon's on his hips.

He was a bounty hunter after all.

She closed the door, steeling herself for the conversation that was to come.

"Your boy on the step?"

"Is he causing any trouble?"

"No, I just sent him down to the kitchen for some food."

"Han will like that, thank you," he said as he stood.

He was tall.

But she was used to tall men.

He had a weathered look about him. Reasonably dressed she knew instantly that he was a ladies man, just by the nature of his stance.

"Where's Anik?"

"Sick."

"You taking her place now," he started to remove his belt slowly.

She cleared her throat, "yes. Yes I am."

"You got a name?"

"Cariss, my name is Cariss."

.


	38. Chapter 38

Please be aware that parts of this chapter may be deemed M rated.

**Thirty Seven**

* * *

_'It's all about the credits._

_I always knew I was the one holding her back._

_Me, with the face like a million others. The same nose, eyes, ears and hairline that was now recognised throughout the Universe._

_Not like before._

_We were the flavour of the month when we were protecting their ridiculous shebese._

_Some heroes we turned out to be._

_[rubs hands together]_

_You remember how people used to look away if we ever removed the buy'ce. _

_As long as we were suited in the armour. But the second they saw we were human they didn't want to know about us. _

_God forbid any one of them grow a conscious._

_But not now. _

_Now I would give anything to have my bucket again, to be hidden away and not one of the most wanted men in the Universe._

_Right behind any living Jedi._

_Any living Jedi. _

_Now there's irony for you._

_[sighs and looks up]_

_We kept on being kicked out of accommodation. _

_She'd lose another job. The first, a cantina just down the road meant she could be home early so we could head to the beach, eat a light meal._

_You know I was really worried about the scar. _

_That fekking light sabre wound just wouldn't heal you know? The Kayl water had done all it could for my voice box, and I am resolved with that, really I am._

_Bacta there was expensive and w__hen I think how we used to go through that stuff!_

_Practically wasted it!_

_What I'd have given for a couple of patches._

_I looked for it, in the dispensaries in town. Hidden behind a scarf, I'm not exactly the type of person they expect to wander into their store. I managed to ask how much._

_Asked._

_[scoffs]_

_That's a joke. _

_I pointed at it frantically before the sales assistant brought out the pharmacist. He took one look at me and went to press the alarm. _

_Frightened._

_Everyone's frightened of me._

_I just don't understand why it won't heal._

_[stares at the floor thinking]_

_It's frustrating._

_Everywhere we go, they just keep shutting doors in our face._

_All because of me._

"_We don't want any trouble here," they'd say, never making eye contact. _

_It's like, if they see me, they'd have to acknowledge my existence._

_No one wants the Empire knocking on their door._

_[nervously taps finger on his thigh]_

_I can at least communicate with her now, at a whisper. I wish I had my helmet; the annunciator would at least make a noise that resembles a voice. _

_She was right; we were running out of credits. _

_And fast._

_She was always looking for a better room, but the only ones we can afford are in the seedier parts of town and way beneath her station as a politician in the Senate._

_She could get better i__f it weren't for me._

_So I go out at night, after she gets home and goes to sleep._

_I place a pillow next to her body to make her think I'm still there._

_But she knows I've gone._

_I know what I have to do._

_I've done it a million times before._

_I can make the credits, _

_ mula, _

_ dosh, _

_ bucks._

_No matter how you say it, it always has the same value._

_Another day, another night and another trip to the beach. But this time she is reluctant to go in, and I look at her, I mean I really look at her. _

_How did I miss this?_

_[questioning look]_

_Her body is so frail and that wound; angry and red again._

_Not again._

_Still!_

_All the days have merged into one._

_We need some direction._

_Someone has to take charge._

_[sits up straight]_

_So I do._

_The area isn't hard to find. _

_Hushed voices, suave music, beautiful people. _

_I've been there before._

_I get a job. Can you believe that?_

_An actual job in the cloak-room and then I'm quickly promoted to the front of house. I guess I look menacing under the scarf I wrap around my face._

_It adds another level of mystery._

_And I'm happy, for the first time in months, I actually feel happy._

_We start to save, get in front, little by little. _

_I give her everything l earn. It's not much, but it's a start. I even get her a bacta patch, from the first aid box in the club. She looks at it and tears up, before gingerly tucking it under her tunic. _

_It's not much._

_But it's something right?_

_I've made a couple of friends too. Adeny, the bar girl always sneaks liquor into my drinks. _

_The alcohol helps. _

_Gives me the familiar buzz and it all comes rushing back; the longing smiles and the easy conversation. _

_I know I am good at it._

_Ads knows what I am doing, fek, everyone would if they could._

_I, on the other hand, know I can._

_And every night I know he's watching._

_One night, when I was eating, I had my scarf rolled down so I could drink the soup. Solids are still a problem and I don't dare risk real food when I'm not around her. _

_He smiles when he sees me look back at him._

_I think I can trust him._

_Thought._

_I was becoming more bold, taking risks. With my hair long and a beard now most of the tattoo is almost unrecognisable. _

_I should have listened to Kix. You know how he was always ribbing us for the ink?_

_'You're gonna regret that one day brother,' he'd say._

_[laughs]_

_I wish I'd listened to him now._

_Kix. Fek I miss him._

_Anyway, I now change the colour of my skin by putting on blue makeup._

_Cerlean of course._

_[cheeky smile]_

_The Republic cog finally disappears under the layer of pigment._

_I keep the scarf a little lower; it's my eyes the clients are taken with. That and the fact that I am silent as the grave. Physically, I could kill any one of them, and I think they know that._

_It fuels their lust further._

_On that particular night, he showers me in compliments and expensive cocktails._

_And credits._

_He comes in twice a week on business, and I find myself looking forward to seeing him. _

_Unlike the rest of them, he's respectful. The other men are too scared of being caught on the closed circuit cameras. So out the back, in the laneways I lead them, behind the dumpsters where I lower myself and wait for their attention. _

_It's not so bad._

_[moves in his seat]_

_Don't get me wrong, I mean sometimes it completely does my head in, but I have managed to shut down and push it back where it belongs. _

_Back with the old crew; Kix, Hardcase, Fives and Echo. The captain; yeah the cap, when I am at my lowest._

_Sometimes I think of her and Rex and what she lost that night._

_A husband and child. And then I know that nothing I endure can ever compare to her grief._

_[takes a drink]_

_Anyway, it was all working. My job, the new room in the boarding house, her job at a local laundry. We were getting there, you know? _

_Then I got too cocky, forgot who, or more importantly, what, I was. _

_Am._

_[stares into the distance]_

_It was something silly too, the stupid room key of all things. She left it behind and I went to give it to her before I started my shift. Her boss came out and caught me talking to her. With the scarf not on, he knew in an instant I was a clone._

_Man, did he drop it. _

"_You, go! No trouble here!"_

_Same old line, nothing new._

_There was no point arguing with him, Gem just removed her apron and we left together, in silence._

_I could tell she really liked that job. Her third in as many weeks._

_We went home and she got straight into bed, and slept._

_That was the afternoon I decided to leave. As soon as she got another job I would go. _

_I was the noose around her neck._

_I knew how I would do it as well. _

_Kyp._

_He was always at me to leave with him. _

_She got another job. This time at a bar just on the outer limits of town. Washing dishes and collecting the used glassware from the tables. I wasn't too happy about it, I mean, lots of travellers from all over the place head there as soon as they arrive._

_We kept missing one another, what with her on day shift and me doing the nights._

_She seemed to be doing all right and I knew things would only get better if I left._

_I knew where I wanted to go as well._

_Scillal._

_The old captain that got us off Corellia told me there was one of 'my kind' on Scillal. I did my research, scouring through the data banks about the planet. _

_It was obvious._

_The Scillal shipyards._

_I'd start there. _

_Wouldn't you? _

_[laughs]_

_Anyway, about two weeks later, I place all the credits I have in the jar under the sink and leave. She would almost have the amount to buy a passage to Oriis, and without me stuffing up her employment opportunities I know she'll get home sooner rather than later._

_I can't look back, if I do I know I wouldn't have had the guts to go through with it. So I get on the yacht and settle back in amongst the lush interior and close my eyes. _

_I know I will pay heavily for this trip, both physically and emotionally._

_Nothing is for free._

_It's all about the credits, _

_ mula, _

_ dosh, _

_ bucks._

_I knew this trip would be expensive._

_Everyone has a price to pay._

_And this is mine._

_[extended silence]_

_Are you going to say anything?'_

"He's alive."

Two words.

Jesse was almost too afraid to ask.

"Who?"

"Rex."

.


	39. Chapter 39

**Thirty Eight**

* * *

It was days before Niner was fully aware of just how close to death he had been.

A myocardial infarction following the stun shot to the chest. And now, his permanent weakness appeared to hang over everyone at _Kyrimorut_.

_Everyone it seemed, except him._

Niner didn't care that his heart had been damaged.

_He was still alive._

Even though there was no bacta tank, Mij told him he could recover.

_And he did. _

You see, the thing about Niner was, he had _patience_.

_He'd had years of it._

And for the first time in his life, he had all the time in the world.

Initially he rested.

He spent his days sleeping and reading; reading for pleasure not reports, star charts and operation manuals. Things he was actually interested in.

And eating.

He would anxiously wait to see what delights the women in the kitchen had cooked for the day. Either Laseema or Rav would miraculously appear before his stomach would growl with hunger, and then sit smiling as he happily devoured everything placed in front of him.

_Freedom never tasted so good._

Then slowly came the gentle exercise followed by the daily routine of a run before breakfast and weights down in the gym Kal had set up for the men.

_He just took it easy._

It would have been an understatement in saying that he was thrilled to see Atin and Fi again, but the most poignant vision of all was waking up in the medical suite to see Darman holding his son.

That, was the moment he had waited so long to see.

_The journey was finally over._

The two men said nothing. Words couldn't convey everything they had been through to get to that point.

Both had sacrificed, and lost, to be where they were now.

Niner was becoming the expert at observing. Quietly sitting back and taking everything, and every one, in.

Darman was all over the place.

One minute he would be in control, playing the role of the perfect parent to Kad and the next, he would lose it entirely, his emotions getting the better of him. It would take time to readjust, not only to being retired from the army but to also being a single parent.

It was another matter altogether to readjust to life without Etain.

Niner could see the psychological pain etched on Darman's face. Like a dark cloud of despair, it would grow in strength until it could no longer be held back, followed by the inevitable outpouring of grief. Niner knew loss, but just not this kind.

This was more personal, _intimate_, and he felt utterly useless to help his friend.

Fi on the other hand, always brought a smile with him. His continued optimism sweetened the bitter taste of the other's reality.

Niner noticed the subtle differences in his behaviour from the head injury he had sustained on Gaftikar. The one that rendered him 'officially dead.'

_But again, it simply didn't-matter._

Nothing mattered.

Finally free from the prying eyes of the Empire, Niner was happy to be breathing air without the constant anxiety of looking over his shoulder.

_All the other stuff would fall into place._

"Here! This is where we've put you," Fi said as he opened the door to Niner's new quarters.

In the room was a twin bed, not the regulation sized cot they were used to back in the barracks. Niner couldn't help but smile as he ran his hand over one of the _two_ bedside tables. "The refresher is in here, look," Fi said as he turned the light on to reveal a shower recess and toilet, "no more sharing _Ner'ika_, it's all yours."

Niner turned around slowly, "where's your room, are you close by?"

"No, Kal has us in the family quarters," Fi continued without thought, "you've got A'den on the right of you, and Mij is just across the way. You'll never be lonely sarge, ever again."

Niner couldn't help but be caught up in Fi's enthusiasm and slapped him on the shoulder, "no, no I won't Fi. Thanks."

As Fi left Niner to acquaint himself with his new room, Darman swung his head around the doorframe.

"Hey sarge, like your new digs?"

"Not bad," he said returning the smile.

"C'mon, meeting in the _karyai_. Las has been baking cake, it's good too. I could smell it all the way down here."

He laughed and followed Darman back to the main gathering point of the house, the place where they would congregate.

It was in here that Niner would look around at his brothers. He looked different, the heart attack had seen to that. Niner had aged. His hair, styled as if he had just left cadet training was now grey at the temples.

It literally happened overnight.

What he enjoyed most about getting together was watching the others interact outside the confines of the army. The men were always at their best surrounded by another brother, but now there seemed a certain _joie de vivre_ about each and every one of them. They continually joked and antagonised, eyes sparkling as they laughed and horse played around their home.

It was as if the war didn't happen.

_But it did._

Niner would keep to himself mostly during the day, disappearing around 1900 after dinner only to re-emerge around 2300 when the dwelling was finally quiet.

The late evening was the time he preferred most.

He could now choose to sit up late if he wanted, sleep in if he felt like it the following morning. He looked at the small scar on his forearm and smiled broadly.

_No one was tracking his every movement. _

In front of the massive fireplace he would sit. There he would listen and watch the fire crackle and flicker in the darkness, restocking the wood as it burned low.

"How you doing there son?"

Kal was the other person who had difficulty sleeping.

Niner nodded his head.

He had been waiting for his old drill sergeant to seek him out. He knew this conversation was coming, a remonstration of sorts, for _fekking_ up so badly.

_Twice._

"Before you say anything Kal, it was _all_ worth it," Niner moved forward and poured him a drink.

Kal said nothing as he took it and sat stiffly down in the chair next to him.

"I had a look at that Gregor fella," he said casually taking a sip, "he was good, damn good. You did a stupid thing _Ner'ika_. He could have killed you both."

Niner nodded his head and smiled.

_Here it comes._

But things were now different.

There had been a subtle shift in his thinking.

Everything he had been through; the war, the fall from the bridge and two relentless rehabilitations had seen to that, and it was finally time.

_Time to grow up._

He had done everything asked of him.

_And more._

The tough calls, the black op's; running around the universe cleaning up the mess left in the Jedi's wake.

No one thought any more of ordering them to do the seemingly impossible. The more the odds were sacked against them the better.

But not now.

Niner had rationalised it in his own mind.

At what point did they stand-alone?

He wasn't about to swap one institution for another.

Fi an Atin were married, Dar had a kid. Isn't that considered mature? Sure, they all owed Kal for getting them a safe haven, but where did it stop?

He was about to find out.

"Ah, but you see Kal?" He said staring into his own drink, "Gregor didn't. He wasn't so bad after all _buir_. He just wanted to get home. Like us. Dar and I just got in the way."

Kal didn't say anything, but Niner watched as he thought of a retort. It was the first time any one of them had challenged him.

"You've changed _Ner'ika_?"

He heard Niner blow out a breath. Kal always had a soft spot for him; the quiet achiever of the group. They were all more than capable, but Niner had inherent, _common sense _and it was that which was eating away at him.

_Common sense._

Niner had stuck it out.

Things had been tough and he had seen it through, almost at a cost to his own life.

_Twice._

Kal was guilt ridden over these two in particular. He held it close to his chest and instead of admitting his part he continued the only way he knew how.

"It was a fundamental part of your training Niner." His voice was low and precise, "you never, _ever_ leave your weapons behind."

Niner didn't bite. He knew Kal was nowhere near finished.

"Did I teach you nothing?"

He blew out a long breath, shaking his head as he listened to the castigation he knew would continue.

"You should never have placed yourself in that situation. You or _Darman_."

_There it was; the real reason for this conversation._

Niner looked up to see Kal's reddened face. It may have been perceived as a quiet conversation between two men, but in actuality it was the dressing down Niner expected.

But Niner knew deep down what Kal was looking for.

_Retribution. _

He could rationalise it anyway he wanted but the everlasting guilt was the burden his old training sergeant carried. The very one that made him stiff when he sat and limp in pain.

To be honest, Niner was sick to death of everyone tiptoeing around Darman's relationship with Etain.

So he thought he would end it there. End the innuendo and open the wound for the last time.

_So it could heal._

"It's done Kal. Nothing can bring her back."

Kal swung his head up to meet Niner's steady gaze.

He had said the unspoken.

"Eight months. It's been _eight months_ since that night. Eight months away from his son."

It was hurtful, a tit for tat of how they could emotionally inflict pain.

"I still can't figure out how you fell from the bridge."

"None of us should have even _been _on that bridge!"

Somewhere during the discussion, they must have stood and now facing one another their chests were heaving as they held back their respective anger.

"You blaming Etain, is that what you're doing here son?"

Niner laughed in his face.

"That's rich, even coming from you. I know what this is, but I'm not playing." Niner stood his ground and continued, "you should have told _him_ before Kad was born. You should have given_ them_ a chance to make a decision. Together. I might have taken the fall off Shinarcan Bridge, but I will NOT take the fall for Darman losing time with his son. Whatever demons you're grappling with Kal, they're yours and yours alone."

_There, it's said._

"Everything alright in here?" Mij had heard the entire thing.

"Yes," Niner continued to walk away from the fireplace, "we're all good, right sarge?"

For the first time, Kal was speechless.

Niner hadn't changed, he'd just grown into the man he was expected to be.

_Bred to be._

Tired and feeling old Kal sat back down in his chair.

"You want to talk about that?"

"I deserved every bit of it."

Mij sat where Niner had been and the two stared into the dwindling flames.

"He's right," Kal said quietly. "I shouldn't have interfered. I should have stood aside and let her tell Darman she was expecting," he sighed and looked over at Mij, "it was a good idea when it was exactly that."

"What?"

"A good idea."

Mij chuckled to himself and stood to leave.

"I didn't give them enough credit."

"At some point you have to let them go. They're men now."

"I know Mij, I do."

"Get some rest. You need something to help you sleep?"

"No, I'm good. 'Night."

Mij walked slowly from the room and Kal looked into the last of the dying embers. For the first time in his life he let the weight of his eyes close and did exactly what the doctor ordered.

Rest.

.


	40. Chapter 40

**Thirty Nine**

* * *

"Didge I want you up in the forward turret and Boil - "

"On it." Boil knew what to do.

They had discussed the plan to the nth degree. Hiding out in cupboards and standing wet in the refreshers discussing the minutia.

Their escape.

Boil would head immediately to the ship's tracking device and dismantle it as fast as humanly possible.

Coric didn't say any more as he waited for Whisk to come in last.

"Whisk. Scan his forearm, I need his designation a-sap."

Whisk didn't answer. He just stood there in the back of the cockpit and stared at the two pilots lying on the floor.

"They're not dead!" He was horrified.

"_Of course they're not!"_ Chopper yelled back, "they're hardly going to give flight clearance to a dead pilot are they?"

Coric turned to see the look of terror written all over the younger soldier's face. As a medic, he too struggled with the logistics of defecting.

"They will be Whisk, in matter of minutes," Coric said as he turned back to the consul in front of him.

He knew that it would be painless, three shots of Morpha each would see to that.

"I can't do this," Whisk said, quietly, it went against everything he was bred to do. Watch helplessly as two men die in front of him.

And not help.

"You've got no choice now brother," Chopper said over his shoulder, "we're in it up to our pits. _C'mon!_ Read his _fekking_ chip so we can bug out."

Whisk lent down and, as if in a trance, read out the numbers to Coric.

"ATC this is CT 98-4510. We have a suspected plutonium leak from a faulty fuel cell. We intend to fly low and slow to an isolated location and await full Hazmat evaluation, over."

Coric shot a look over to Chopper who held his gaze.

This was where things got tricky.

Air traffic control would either give them the go ahead, buying them precious time to config the co-ordinates and ready the ship to jump or, they would have to do it directly, running the risk of a _military escort_.

Didge was in the top gunnery turret. With his expert eye he knew he could out shoot anything the _stormies_ could throw at them. He was just hoping he wouldn't have to and they could escape without altercation.

Without the helpful colours on their armour, any one of them could be Sats.

Boil had made his way down to the bottom turret, Didge heard him curse as be banged his head getting into the seat. Spinning around upside down inside the ball he cleared his throat, "I'm in and blind, over. ATR?"

"That's a negative Boil," Didge replied as they continued to wait for a reply from the tower.

"Come on," Coric said impatiently, "_come on_," willing them to answer.

He then rolled his neck and made the decision.

Ever since Order 66 he had assumed the position of leader amongst the rag tag group of left overs from the 501st and then the 212th. Given the promotion to first lieutenant helped, his new rank meant he could also acquire the extra Morpha in his medpack. He knew there had to be more men, caught up in the tyranny of the newly formed regime but had decided that five was more than enough to manage an escape from Coruscant.

"_Fek it_. Lift her up, we're moving. You've got the numbers punched?"

"Not quite."

"What's the _fekking_ problem?" His nerves were on an edge.

"The problem is," Chopper replied calmly, "is that I'm not a _fekking_ pilot."

"Ladies, _ladies_. Do I need to come up there and hold some hands?"

Didge laughed at Boil's comic timing. In the midst of deserting there was always time for a joke. Boil was out, whichever way he looked at it.; lifting off safely or being shot as a deserter on the spot. It didn't matter to him now. Didge had learned a lot from just watching the more senior men take on the Empire. He admired them, and although their leaving was bittersweet, he had never felt more alive.

This was better than any battle with Rex.

While the two continued to bicker Whisk crouched down beside the pilots.

Another two innocent brothers had been caught up in their mission of subterfuge.

He sat down awkwardly, removing his helmet and looked at them both with his own eyes. In his mind, they deserved no less.

The sense of loss was becoming more evident to this young medic.

"What are we doing again? Why are we special?"

"We're not," Coric grunted out as the ship began to rumble.

"CT 98-4510 this is ATC. We suggest you fly to MPMG – PAC."

"That's the secondary airport on the other side of Courscant City. It's about 15 klicks from here," Chopper whispered to Coric as he held his hand over the mic.

Coric kept an eye on Chopper, waiting for him to make the final calc's for the jump to hyperspace. Once it was done they would be out of there and with the tracking devise smashed they would be untraceable.

Except for the fact they were in an Imperial supply shuttle.

They had been given the all clear. They could head towards the other air field and have precious time to get the co ordinates correct.

Coric sighed with relief and pressed the comm link.

"Copy that ATC. CT-5547 out."

The subsequent silence seemed to last an eternity.

They'd all heard it.

So grateful to be given the green light, the seasoned 501st medic made the biggest mistake of his short life.

Stating _his_ designation _instead _of the dead pilots was just a slip of the tongue.

Every man was too shocked to say anything, holding their breath, rigid on the spot.

"Good one," they all heard Chopper say, breaking the awkward stillness as the ship moved slowly lifted off the tarmac.

.

"_Here, this is for you," he whispered as he handed over the wooden instrument._

"_What?" Gemma stared wide-eyed back at him as she looked at the guitar that Jesse held up. It was old, scratched, but it had all strings attached and the honey coloured wood glistened in the early morning light._

"_I remembered you played. From that little moon. I saw it at a two and dime in town."_

"_We can't afford it," she said a little too loudly.  
_

"_It wasn't expensive, it's a gift. For you," he stood holding the neck waiting for her to take it. He had been so excited in accidentally finding it that her lack of enthusiasm had dampened his surprise. Jesse looked away, embarrassed and placed it in the corner of the room._

_He said it wasn't expensive, but to her it was invaluable. It reminded her of everything she once held so close. _

_A father, the promise of a new career that led her to a family. _

_Not just Rex and Piia either. _

_Gem had lost everyone who had adopted her into their closely knit fold. _

_All without question._

_And she had repaid it in kind by being belligerent and single minded._

_Her downfall, some say her mother's as well; pride._

_She looked up at Jesse and his ridiculous luminescent blue face and knew she had to make amends._

_Starting now._

_So she walked over to the guitar and picked it up. Holding back the raw emotion wound tight in her chest she let the strings do the talking._

_Jesse sat down, his relief and happiness at her accepting his gift evident._

_She knew what she could do. _

_And music was a good start._

.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: To my special reviewers, this is dedicated to your whinging and whining. A sensationally action packed, "blokey" chapter to sink your teeth into. Enjoy. 782

**Forty**

* * *

Gemma had become paranoid.

The nightly torture to make money had begun to play tricks on her mind. She would carefully walk the room after the last client had left and make sure there were no hidden microphones of small camera devices. Anik had told her how to spot one and all she had remaining dear to her was hidden away in that tiny room.

The guitar that Jesse had given to her before he left on his own personal crusade and the medal Rex…

The medal _her husband_ had presented to her the night her heart had been stolen forever.

She had also become complacent.

Maybe it was more of a coping mechanism given her current career, but every now and then she would allow herself to indulge in a memory.

Just one.

_Or two._

Sometimes through utter despair they would just appear.

Piia's black eyes penetrating through the darkness of her grim reality.

The more she focussed on them, the more she would forget the smallest of details she thought impossible. Gem would struggle with the colour of her hair, and was her part on the right side of her tiny head, or the left?

The memory had to be perfect.

One small deviation meant she would have to begin again, getting it right before she could close it off and move forward. She was frightened that by denying the images for so long she had lost the essence of her daughter.

What sort of mother does that?

_What sort of mother would have taken her baby to the Temple that day?_

As far as Piia was concerned, it was like a revolving door; no answers, just questions chasing more questions.

As for Rex, she could recall almost every time she woke next to him. His smell, the scar on his chin, even the way he would clip his armour was dedicated to memory.

… _first the body suit which he would shuck on to the waist. Then, with his chest bare he would put on his wrist chrono and line up his armour. The arms would go through the black material quickly and then the clipping sound that would herald another day._

The tempo never missed a beat.

_Clip. Clip. Clip._ Stop.

Then more quickly _clip, clip, clip, clip, clip. _

One leg would be done before turning to the next. Over and over with her eyes closed she would imagine him get that armour he loved so much in place before the utility belt, then the _kama._

Or was it the _kama_ then the utility belt?

_Shit!_

She had a moment of panic.

Her memory was being challenged.

So scrunching her eyes tight and shaking the image as if wiping away at a black board she would begin again.

…_black body suit to the waist._

It was exhausting and she wouldn't allow herself to sleep until she got it right.

_As he would have done._

_._

The clients weren't too bad.

Relatively speaking.

Human only; she drew the line at aliens.

Not that her boss didn't try.

One night he sent up a Duros. Horrified, Gem slid out her window and down the rickety fire escape ladder until her feet hit the ground. Then she ran, determined not to return.

That only lasted four hours.

Broke and alone she knew a warm bed and food was as important as the small amount of credits she was earning.

But after months of continuing on the same dreaded path each night, her worst fears were realised.

For all intents and purposes, he was classified as _humanoid._

Rich and wanting to rid himself of fifty gold credits for one night with '_the girl with the long dark hair_.'

It was her only distinguishable feature that remained.

She had overheard the conversation and knew exactly how much he was willing to pay for her services.

Gem now had a bargaining tool.

"I want ten gold credits or you can bend over and take it like a man," she had stated.

"You'll lose your job, Anik is back and happy to oblige."

"But he doesn't want_ her_," she said looking over at the blonde girl laughing with two men in the corner, "he asked _for me_. If I leave, you loose the lot."

He knew she had him over a barrel but he also knew that ten gold was enough to buy passage anywhere in the Mid rim. It was a game of trust, one he didn't feel comfortable playing.

He knew the client had asked specifically for her and that he would go elsewhere if she wasn't available.

"Six."

"Ten."

"Seven."

"Ten, or I walk out that door."

He thought for a second. He understood why she had become so popular with the men. Even though she was small in frame he mind was sharp and her beauty the likes of which he had never seen around those parts before.

She was an expensive commodity, and he was making a small fortune out of her.

"Eight, and two silver."

"Eight and _five silver_."

"Done."

It wasn't perfect, but it was more than she had ever expected he would relinquish.

Gem waited for her client to arrive, steeling herself for the grotesque creature but nothing could have prepared her for the next six hours.

On her knees for most of it, he knew how to humiliate a woman ten fold, and it dawned on her that the credits she had asked were never going to be enough. He continually held her hair with his clawed hands, entwining his long nailed fingers into the thick mass and pulled hard, yanking her head back til the muscles in her neck screamed in agony.

She said nothing and finally after the indignity was complete he redressed and watched her sprawled out on the floor in front of him.

"How the mighty have fallen Representative Gem," he said with his clipped basic accent, "how the mighty have fallen."

She looked up to see his canine teeth exposed as he laughed.

She collected herself quickly, wrapping a sheet around her aching body, "you have me at a disadvantage _sir,_" she said as she made an attempt to stand.

He continued to stare at her with his golden feline eyes, cruel and sadistic. "You really were stupid weren't you, like all those Jedi that gave everyone a false sense of security. Never mind. The Empire no longer cares for you or Oriis as it once did. You see, your home world was considerably richer during the reign of the Republic. Being as broke as it now is, there is nothing and," he stopped and smirked, "_no one_ of significance remaining. Oriis is about as low as yourself. Nothing more than a worn out whore on all fours, used and abused and not really attractive to anyone."

They were harsh words, but deep down, Gem knew them to be true.

"What do you go by now? Carriss? Well, your dirty little secret is safe with me. It suits my, how should I say, _needs,_ for you to remain unknown. I'll be back, and believe me when I say this, it was a true _pleasure_."

He turned after slipping his pistol to his belt and flipped her a gold credit as he left. Gem sat on her haunches and looked at the wooden door as she stroked the shiny metal in between her fingers. He knew about Oriis, she just couldn't place the Zygerrian from her time in the Senate.

They were never a part of the Republic.

Then just how did he know her?

She showered, redressed and in a catatonic state left the bar and walked, her mind completely blank until she stopped outside a hairdresser's salon.

There she took the gold credit out, and instead of socking it away with the others in her room she walked inside.

Damn hair.

It had been her most distinguishing feature.

She thought it funny how the men would ignore the gaping scar that ran the length of her torso but would stroke and comment on the mass of black curls that would sweep their waists as she saw to their needs.

"How much?"

"Ma'am?"

"Wash and dry?" She couldn't wait for his stench to be gone.

"1.5 bronze Ma'am."

She smiled and nodded, moving over to the basin and sat. There she let her shoulders slump and closed her eyes as the fragrance from the expensive soap enveloped her.

It was only after her hair had been completely dried she opened them to see herself, for one last time, _as he would have._

_Mesh'la._

Then she asked, "how much?"

"I thought I mentioned it before? 1.5 bronze," the woman stated smiling at her work.

"No. For all of it?"

She knew human hair was wanted to make wigs for rich woman from other systems.

"Oh! Are you suuurree?" She emphasized the words, shocked at the question.

Gem looked down at hands, they had aged since this all began. No longer were the nails brightly painted. She had hit rock bottom in more ways than one. This was her last ditch effort of defiance. The last spark of anything that_ he_ had fallen in love with would be snipped away in an instant.

"I'll just check with my boss," she said and walked backwards towards the older Xanthinoan sitting at her desk.

The citrine coloured woman walked over and looked at the mane of black and then to the woman with the dark circles etched under her eyes. She'd seen women like Gem before; worn down by war.

And men.

She knew the look.

_Desperation._

"We'll give you 9 silver for this," she said as she ran her fingers through the clean, soft mane.

Gem simply nodded and continued to stare into the mirror at her eyes as they cut her hair off completely, leaving her as bald as the clone soldier she fell in love with.

_I am now just like you. _

But she wasn't.

She looked down ashamed at her thoughts.

_Rex was never this weak._

She then thanked the women and took the credits, securing them discreetly into her underwear.

This wasn't the end of it, she knew that, and the bruise over her left eye socket made it obvious to all and sundry that she had been beaten for her insolence.

It was worth it.

No one asked for the girl with the long dark hair again.

Well, someone did, eventually.

But that was an entirely different story…

.

A/N: So there you go guys. A juicy chapter, just like you asked for. Read it and... review. I'd like some new readers to post a comment. Just one word would be nice, be creative. 782


	42. Chapter 42

**Forty One**

* * *

"I can't believe I just did that." Coric's voice was soft and somewhat vague.

The medic in Whisk made him look up to see the lieutenant standing aimlessly behind the co-pilots chair.

Chopper was typing away like a madman, his shoulders hunched over the panel as he continued to make the final calculations for the jump to hyperspace once they were clear of Coruscants orbit.

"We need to keep this bird moving," he said as he glanced up at Coric, "I've plugged in the airbase coordinates so they'll think we are heading that way."

He didn't mention the slip.

No one blamed Coric.

Whisk gently moved him aside and sat in the seat next to the scarred trooper.

"Tell me what to do."

"I would," he said before muttering under his breath, _"if I knew what the fek to do."_ He continued to tap away, "alright, I am about to plug in the moon's coordinates. Boil?"

"Here Chopper."

"That tracking device. You sure we're good?"

"Copy that. Clear to go."

"Just checking ok?"

"All good here Chop, all good."

"OK," the beads of sweat were dripping off his nose onto the flight consul, "I'm switching to autopilot and entering in the final destination coordinates."

It was then his voice raised an octave.

"What's this _osik?_ Is this besh or herf?"

Coric looked at the note he had scribbled months ago. The one with the directions for the escape written hastily on it.

Rex had told him to look at his record under 'distinguishable features.' There he found an image of his captain's torso with the line of numbers and letters across his left pec. He had to study the image quickly and if the truth be told, he didn't rightly know himself. What initially looked like a Besh could have been interpreted as Herf; a scar ran through the last letter on his captain's chest.

"I'm not sure," Coric stated, still in shock from his earlier blunder.

_Just another one to add to the list._

"What the _fek_ do you mean you're not sure?"

"I couldn't tell," he stammered, "I,- _I'm not 100% sure_."

Chopper visibly steadied himself and turned to look at Coric. He may have appeared calm, but Whisk could see he was about to blow.

"Just where the _fek_ did you get these coordinates _lieutenant?_"

Coric swallowed hard. He had brought them all along on this mission, talked them into believing that he could get them free of Coruscant. Promised them a new life.

Just as Rex would have done.

"From Rex's tattoo on his left pectoral."

"WHAT? We are flying to a location that was inked on the cap's chest?"

Boil's laughter filled he comm. "I swear Coric, if the stormies don't shoot us down I'm gonna throw you out with the next 'fresher dump."

Chopper shoved the paper in front of Whisk, "what do you think?"

He studied the lettering and looked up at Coric who had now turned white.

Someone had to make a decision.

"Besh. Statistically more coordinates have a Besh."

"Statistically? That's the best you can do?"

"It's a documented fact."

Whisk was now the owner of one of Chopper's menacing stares, "Besh it is then," he said as he plugged in the final sequence.

The line had gone dead from air traffic control. They knew what that probably meant. The Empire would be scrambling some fighters to escort them to the new base or shoot them down as the deserters they were.

"Keep her steady, we need some height and fast."

Whisk did as he was ordered, his hand shaking as it continually pulled the craft up to gain some much needed altitude.

Unlike the other four, Boil could see the funny side of the situation, either that or it was his way of coping with what would eventually happen.

"What's so funny brother," Chopper managed to get out as he continued to guide them up.

"You, in a pilots seat."

"If at any point you want to get up here, I'd gladly swap."

"No, no," he said casually, "this is far too entertaining to… Wait." His tone changed. "we have visitors coming in on our six, over."

"I see them," Didge had been silent up to this point.

"Keep an eye on them, we only need another half klick before we can jump. Let's pick up the speed a bit. Coric, do something useful and strap your self in. I'm going off auto and taking over."

"You sure that's a wise - " Whisk stated, his nerves getting the better of him.

"Just hold her steady, and wait, wait." The tension was palpable. "Wait, NOW!"

Just as Chopper pushed the button to send them into hyperspace a lonely red pulse escaped from one of the fighters behind them.

The ship shuddered and the streaming stars became static once more.

"They've hit the hyper drive!"

_Fek._

Boil didn't wait to return fire and Didge, after seeing the pulse leave from somewhere underneath them, joined in the fight. His aim was true, just like as it was with a DC17 and disabled two fighters in quick succession.

"Nice shot kid," came from Boil in the bottom turret.

"HOLD ON," Chopper yelled, "we're going again." The main stabilisers had been compromised not the hyper drive as he initially thought. The ships main computer had stopped the jump as part of it's fail safe mechanism.

The ship lurched forward as the engine screamed just before the blue lights began to stream again, this time continuing.

No one said anything, not for a long while. Chopper moved first, unclipping his belt and stood.

Quickly he began flicking off his armour and within a minute had his body suit stripped to the waist. He was drenched in sweat, the anxiety playing more on him than any decent battle in the past. Whisk then saw the scars that lined his body, glistening in the luminous blue light. Chop bent over and lent his hands on his knees, taking in deep breaths.

"Fek, that was close," he said as he gave Whisk a wink. He then moved over to the two pilots, now permanently asleep on the floor. "Coric, let's strip them and dump the bodies when we come out of hyper."

Whisk turned around, about to lunge for the crude comment but held his tongue. Then he watched as Chopper fell to his knees exhausted and slowly began to remove the pilots gloves. "Thanks buddy," he said kindly, "but you won't be needing these any longer." Coric leaned down and began to remove a flight suit, checking his vitals one last time.

Chopper could feel Whisk's eye boring in on his back, "I know what you're thinking back there. We gave them a chance and they declined _our kind_ offer," Chopper grunted out as he removed the new grey suit.

Whisk looked at Coric and Chopper as they quickly relieved the two men of all their clothing. He knew as well as them that their suits, gloves, _fek,_ even their boots would be precious when they finally got to their destination.

_If they got there._

It was part of their survival training, and besides, they already knew that everything would fit.

...


	43. Chapter 43

**Forty Two**

* * *

The second he woke, Fives knew he wasn't alone in the room.

"Over here," Echo said as he watched his old war brother struggle to manoeuvre himself in the large bed. Echo ticked his tongue at the sight. Fives may have been a physical wreck, but there was nothing wrong with his hearing. He knew what Echo must have been thinking, _fek,_ he'd thought it himself;

The tables had been turned.

"_Copaani gaan?"_

Fives cleared his throat.

"_Nayc,_" he replied as he shimmied himself up on the pillows.

"Fives. C_'mon_ \- " Echo wanted him to stop.

"Thanks. I said I've got it." The exertion had triggered another coughing spasm.

Echo knew better than to interfere. So he waited, and when Fives was finished he offered him a glass filled with water.

Fives flicked his head in appreciation and looked away as he took a sip.

Echo now found himself in new territory. Once ridiculed as the awkward ARC, playing second fiddle to the suave Fives and his shenanigans where the war, woman and their brothers were concerned he had finally surpassed him.

Now, he was now the more dominate of the pair, the one in control.

For the first time in his life, he was the one with all the power.

He now knew how Fives must have spent his entire life, and it felt good.

But somehow it didn't matter. He only had to look at the family and life he had created for himself to feel the same sense of pride and accomplishment.

In his mind he had left the military long ago, when they turned their back on him at The Citadel.

"I've had a bad run," was all Fives said as he held onto the cup with both hands.

"_Lek_, I can see that. What happened?" He asked the question more out of propriety than care.

_Why don't I feel anything?_

"I don't know where to begin," he said finally looking up at Echo, his eyes still watery from the tussis.

He watched as Echo puffed up a cushion on a chair beside the bed and sat, ready to listen.

There was a conversation that had been a long time coming.

"Well," Echo said cautiously, "how about we start at Lola Sayu."

.

"So there you have it Stoyan. I knew once Rex showed me the lab on Oriis and the wall that Dr Boll had hit with her research that you could help. If we are correct, then your genetic material will be the same as Jango's, your identical twin. All we need is some to compare against the soldiers. Then, all the manipulations to the original template will become evident."

"Including this accelerated ageing?"

Ahsoka smiled, "that's what we're hoping." Stoyan couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. He had remembered the altercation with the clone and the young Jedi on Scillal all that time ago. He had felt bad that the soldier, now seated opposite him had been injured. But he was then in a fight for his life, all the questions had yet to be answered.

"But how will you know which is the altered gene?"

"Good question." Ashoka laughed, "and being a Jedi and not a geneticist, it's all gobbledy gook to me, but believe me Stoyan we will work that out. All we need is some of your DNA and we'll leave you alone. This time for good."

Stoyan stood, and outstretched his hand. His cane slammed into his fist with speed that it startled even the other Jedi in the room. Since leaving the Order Ahsoka had limited her use, so the open display of his power took both her and Rex a little by surprise. She had sensed that he had changed, his signature within the Force had altered since their last meeting.

The stroke had seen to that.

Stoyan went to the sink and placed his cup into the soapy water. "OK, you can whatever you want, but on one condition."

Ahsoka looked at Rex who wore a guarded expression.

"And that would be?"

"That you return when you are successful. To treat Echo."

It was a no brainer.

"Of course. You have my word Master Jedi."

"I am no more a Jedi these days than you. " She lowered her head and nodded. Ahsoka liked Stoyan. She had diligently researched him on return to Coruscant when she had been pulled from active service for her role in Rex being injured. Anakin was never the wiser as to the real reason his captain's thigh had been slashed open by a light sabre.

Stoyan then turned to Rex. "We're ok here, aren't we?"

Rex knew exactly what he was saying. A Jedi at Stoyan's level could have ended his life in a heart-beat but instead he had chosen to render him unconscious to the heated discussion that ensued with the then young commander.

"Right you are sir," was all he said as he too stood and extended his hand in peace.

.

Ahsoka could sense the change in Rex. She found him outside standing on the small porch watching Freya chase Marek around the clothes line, the sheets moving slightly in the breeze.

"You OK?"

He kept staring ahead at the two laughing in the distance, "just missing Piia, that's all."

"Is that really all?"

She knew him better than he thought.

Rex turned around to face her completely, leaning back against the balustrade.

"It's just, _I don't know_," he shook his head as he spoke, "seeing Echo again has brought back memories, _lots of memories_." Ahsoka stepped forward and placed her hand on his heart.

"Those memories Rex, in here, define you as a man. They define _the person_ you have become, but they have the power to destroy you if you don't manage them."

"Like the General?" It wasn't the first time they had spoken about the Jedi Faith. They had philosophised about it on more than one occasion after making love in his small room back on Coruscant a lifetime ago.

Before his heart was stolen by another.

"Maybe. All I'm saying is draw upon these experiences, the bad as well as the good, no matter how hard they are. It wasn't the outcome we bargained for, but it's all we've got," she then slapped her hand hard against his chest to lighten the mood, "cut yourself some slack _Rexter_. Don't feel guilty, about feeling guilty. It's all part of the process."

He quickly grabbed her hand and covered it with his own, "how did I miss this?"

Another change of direction, one that caught her by surprise.

"Miss what?"

"You. Growing up? When did it happen?"

"The day I left you standing on the top of those stairs," the words spilled out on their own as she looked at his hand covering hers. "I knew then _I_ had to grow up and do things on my own. How I wanted you to follow me down, but you had your own path to follow. I had to find mine Rex, and I did." She dropped her head and whispered, "it led me back to you."

Rex moving into her was as natural as breathing air. She was completely lost in the warmth of his body as his arms found the small of her back and pulled her in close. She could feel the stubble of his beard gently scrape across her cheek as his mouth sought out hers.

_How could a kiss that heavy with emotion be so light?_

Rex brushed a _lekku_ aside gently and ran his face up against her neck, taking in the familiar scent that had always been solely, Ahsoka.

"Rex," she breathed as his lips finished on her forehead.

He couldn't talk, and there were no words that could convey everything that had led to that moment.

She was right.

As always.

It was perfectly normal to feel guilty.

Rex would allow that guilt to define him, shape him into a new person; father, lover and brother.

No more would it eat away at him and distort the memories of _his_ past.

From that point on, all that mattered was he wouldn't be doing it alone.

.


	44. Chapter 44

**Forty Three**

* * *

Boil grunted as he hoisted the garbage bin's contents into the back of the truck and slapped it twice. Didge took his cue and moved the vehicle forward a few metres as Boil and Chopper easily jumped onto the back running board.

"We're being followed."

Chopper nodded. He looked more menacing than ever. Wearing nothing but a singlet and long pants, his dark skin glistened with sweat in the early morning light.

The five never knew they hadn't made it to the right planet. For all they knew, this was _exactly_ where Rex had indicated for them to flee too.

What they thought was a _besh_ was in fact a _herf_ on their captain's chest; an annoying scar ran through the last letter, a remnant from the failed mission to Kimora.

Not that they knew that, or that it mattered now.

They had managed to integrate themselves into the large, anonymous community of Pleartha on the very inhabitable world of Barth IV.

Chopper was the most excited about his new home world and beamed when he managed to secure them all a job.

"Environmental control brothers," he said enthusiastically, "we'd be good at that."

And good at it they were.

Arriving to work promptly at 0400 every morning, taking minimal breaks and instructions to the 't', they were every employers dream.

Didge, Boil and Chop would do one day, Whisk, Coric and Chopper again, the next.

They took no chances. Nobody could be trusted and they kept mostly to themselves. Starting work early meant they finished long before the locals would begin their day, then they would steal back into anonymity, happy with their own company.

Their own community.

"What do you want to do?" Boil asked the question as they bounced around another corner.

"You up for it?"

Boil threw his head back and laughed.

Chopper knew his answer.

.

"Thanks Anik, I'll see you in the morning."

Anik smiled as she jumped down from the top of the bar.

"'Night Cariss." Gem still felt bad being deceitful about her real name, but there were some things she had to keep to herself. It had been a fortnight since she had her hair all shaved off and she kept it that way deliberately. The owner of the bar, still furious would think nothing of swinging his arm in her direction as he went about his business.

She didn't mind in the slightest; that physical pain she could endure.

It was the change of season and the patronage of the bar had slumped off, not many new travellers and even the locals were quiet. Gem had been delegated back into the kitchen, washing glasses and dirty plates, only helping out at the bar when busy.

She climbed the stairs slowly, lost in her exhaustion and opened the door to her room.

There he sat, his fat fingers entwined in the ribbon as he swung provocatively the only item more precious that her life.

"Been keeping something from me I see?"

Suddenly everything appeared white as she squinted and refocussed on the man in the leather chair. Gem then saw red, as her eyes flickered from the brilliant blue stone to the pile of tri coloured credits stacked neatly next to him.

He had found the lot.

She then returned to the only thing good in her life that remained.

His medal; the one he lifted over her head the night they made love for the first time.

_Rex._

Closing her eyes she was at a loss to reign in her anger as it manifested itself for a second time as a by-product of her disused inheritance.

"I'm going to kill you," she said as her voice began to tremble.

He laughed in her face as he made to stand.

Vomit stung the back of her throat as Gem concentrated her thoughts onto the only connection with her past.

_Her old self._

"You're going to give that back," she said calmly as his eyes began to bulge, "and then you are going to forget everything you've seen."

A look of shock covered his face as he put the medal down and moved past her out of the room.

A layer of sweat began to soak through her dress as she raced to get her hands on the medal.

The time had come.

She had to leave and put an end to her self-imposed misery.

She knew that now.

She had reached her tipping point. Quickly Gem hid the medal back inside the mattress and packed her bag.

Tomorrow she would enquire about a passage to Oriis.

Tomorrow she would take charge.

Again.

.

"How long have you known?"

"A couple of weeks."

"Do you want me to check?"

"No. I have all the data." Whisk handed Coric the flimsie and watched as he frowned and ran through the results himself.

"I thought they eliminated all this from our DNA?"

Whisk scoffed and sat back, "how could _anyone_ account for this? Think about it for a sec, sometimes things just go wrong. You know that?"

Coric did, but this was something none of them were trained for.

An innocuous head cold that never seemed to get better. Loss of appetite followed by a loss of weight. Whisk seemed disinterested and tired and it wasn't just the moral logistics of their escape.

Now it all made sense.

An anomaly in the blood work.

No bacta, no therapy available. Whisk was on his own in this battle.

And there wasn't a _fekking_ thing any one of them could do about it.

Everything was moving too fast, just like their metabolism. From an early age the clones were taught what to expect from their bodies, knowing their physical limitations. Their _orchestrated_ cellular regeneration meant that they repaired quicker, aged faster.

But this genetic superiority came at a price. Any deviation from the norm would replicate at a rapid fire pace.

"Things are going to get real messy, real quick."

Coric looked up and took him in.

_How did I miss this? _

The signs were all there now he knew the truth.

Whisk had deliberately grown a beard; covering most of his face meant that no one noticed his sunken cheeks. His long, loutish hair made him look scruffy and unkempt, but the others just thought it was _his_ way of bucking the system that created them.

Not one of them would have thought of this.

The hardest part for Whisk was leaving Didge behind. Telling him would somehow make it all seem 'real.'

That was the conversation he was dreading, and Coric was all over it.

"You want me to tell Didge?"

Whisk looked up and shook his head. "It's good brother." He saw it then, the sympathy written all over Coric's face, the only part of his situation he was hoping to avoid.

_That look._

"I'm _going_ a free man Coric," he said. "Not many can lay claim to that."

"Leave it with me, there must be something _I -_ ,"

"No. You've done enough. Got us all here. Look out that window brother," he said staring past Coric's right shoulder, "look at those green fields and trees. This, _this _is more than I ever expected. Ever dreamt of. You gave us _all_ that lieutenant."

Coric turned and looked at the same tree line. He knew what Whisk was saying was true. Without bacta and the treatment they were no longer privy too there really was nothing he could offer other than emotional support.

"Didge. You'll look after him for me - ,"

"Of course - ," he replied, the lump in his throat preventing him from finishing the sentence.

There was nothing more to say anyway.

They continued to look out the window in silence as the harsh reality of life outside the army hit home.

.

Gem undressed and washed before slipping under the sheet, only she couldn't sleep; the adrenaline from the altercation keeping her awake, alone reliving the thoughts of the night she was given that medal.

It was once a symbol of his admiration.

A symbol of his love.

She knew at that moment she would have to sell it. Rex never thought anything of the accolades he was awarded as a soldier during the war, so she knew that hanging onto the physical part of a memory that no longer remained was pointless.

Rex wasn't about that.

If he were alive, he would be angry she hadn't used it to better her life.

So that's what she would do. Sell it and head forward alone one last time.

There she could stop, her race against the odds would finally be over.

She would be free.

Home.

.

Chopper slapped the truck again and Didge stepped on the brakes, "what the _fek_?"

He disappeared around the front as Boil jumped up and whispered to Didge, "hold here for a sec, we have a visitor."

The young sniper's heart skipped a beat at the proximity of Boil's face.

The two had become close in recent weeks. Initially Didge thought he was just idolising his older brother but eventually there was no mistaking the attraction. Boil deliberately kept him at arms length, thinking through the ramifications of showing more than just friendship.

But it felt so good to feel wanted.

Boil remembered the feeling. However this wasn't part of his plan. He always thought that he would just disappear once they had settled somewhere. The job though, was something they all enjoyed and the satisfaction of earning credits to afford to live was a luxury they never dreamed possible.

"Just be careful ok?"

Boil beamed a smiled from ear to ear as Chopper gave him the nod and Didge kept his foot on the accelerator just in case.

The lone figure turned into the alleyway and stopped.

Chopper bent down and pretended to lace his shoe as Boil sprung out of nowhere, grabbing the humanoid from behind and pushing him hard into the wall face first.

The stranger retaliated by flicking his head backwards, taking Boil off guard. Cartilage and pain collided and Boil let out a groan as he released the man and reached up to hold his nose.

That's when Chopper moved in. He showed no mercy as he pushed the man again into the wall, thumping his kidneys and bringing him down to his knees in a heartbeat.

"You 'right?" He said over his shoulder as Boil stood unsteadily. The man moved slightly and Chopper kicked him again, "I didn't mean you," he grunted at the form on the ground.

Didge jumped out of the truck and ran to Boil, holding a handkerchief out to mop up the blood.

"Tanks," Boil muttered into the material.

"Now," Chopper said mildly satisfied by the physical exertion, "just who is so interested in meeting us hey?"

He grabbed the lone figure by the collar of his expensive coat and turned him round to face him.

"What the - ?"

The stranger looked up slowly, the blue inked pattern on his face unmistakeable.

A smile crept across Choppers face. "Well I'll be. Jesse, you old bishwag. It's good to see you brother."

.


	45. Chapter 45

**Forty Four**

* * *

"Come along Ordo," Vau seemed in particular bad humour that morning.

More so than usual.

He was liquidating more assets, the ones he had stolen from the family vault on Mygeeto. The clan had also acquired a new yacht, so Ordo didn't mind in the slightest that the terse _Cuy'val Dar_ had elected him to pilot the new AEG 62. Walon Vau may have been a right royal pain in the _shebese_, but he had the credits, and the _gett'se_ to follow through. He was also well connected and had singlehandedly bought the new craft with his ill-gotten gains via a contact at the Xivor Transportation Company.

She may have been small, but she was fast, and whichever way he looked at it, Ordo was in for one sweet ride.

As soon as he suited up.

_Aay'han_ had been moved.

Kal was even more skittish since Darman and Niner arrived and thought it should be moved constantly to avoid any suspicion.

And tracking.

"Hey," Niner lumbered into the warmth of the kitchen and sat at the table, "where you going?"

"Not sure but," Ordo grunted out as he stood, "I guess I'll find out soon enough. Later brother."

Niner nodded as Laseema loudly plonked a huge mug of _caf_ in front of him, making it known she was less than happy to be in the kitchen when Atin was still in fast asleep in bed.

It was 0530.

Niner looked up and smiled openly and her grumpy mood lightened.

"You're not dressed for your run yet," her eyebrow rose as she took in his appearance; still in his pyjamas, he had padded up barefoot, his hair dishevelled and still warm from sleep.

"Nah," Niner blew on the hot liquid, "might give it a miss today. Looks nasty out there."

He was right. It was blowing a gale, the chill factor sitting at a nippy 29 degrees Fahrenheit.

Niner picked up the _caf_ and made his way back to his quarters.

And bed.

His run that day could wait.

.

"Just need to see a man about a dog. Join us when you're ready for some food."

Ordo watched as Vau pulled his coat collar up and hunch over as he went inside the cantina, then began the ritual of shutting down the ship and securing it before following him in.

There were the usual misfits that coalesced in the Outer Rim, plus a couple of Bounty Hunters. It wasn't busy which immediately made Ordo feel anxious.

He was wearing dark green and burgundy beskar, a miss mash of pieces with a helmet that had been modified to fit. Only when his plate had been placed in front of him did he dare remove the bucket. He ate quickly, drinking the beer fast, washing down the stew and bread before he absently forgot where he was and looked up.

That's when their eyes met.

The startled expression of recognition unmistakable.

The woman was replacing some glasses at the bar when she looked up to see the two men at the table directly opposite. She was momentarily frozen in time. The last mouthful of the meal had been ruined for Ordo and he had to swallow hard to get it down.

"I think I'll go wait outside sarge," he said as he flicked his head quickly in the direction of the bar. She quickly averted her eyes when the older man looked over, but stayed there, clearing away the glasses before heading back to the kitchen. When she returned the clone had gone and in his place was another man discussing a beautiful antiquity with the other. She watched them warily as she continually poured glasses of ale when she noticed an enormous amount of credits being pushed across the table and the priceless piece of jewellery tucked inside a jacket. Vau looked up at her and nodded his head, "two more of the same," he eyes scanning the room in one sweep.

They were intense.

As the men shook hands Vau reached for his jacket and Gem knew this was the time to make her move and quickly slid into the seat opposite.

"I see you like fine pieces?"

Vau's expression didn't change. "I am always open to beautiful items that need a home," he surveyed her completely. Ordo was right in feeling uncomfortable. There was a story here, one that just piqued his curiosity.

"How much for this?" Gem pulled out from under her tunic dress a chain. On the end hung the heavy gold medal with a blue stone in the middle.

Vau sat back in his bench seat and looked at the item glistening in her hand.

"That's a Republic Medal for bravery. How'd you get it?" He moved forward and Gem felt the cold gaze narrow.

That's when they were interrupted by the bar manager, and she quickly moved the medal into her chest, her hand covering it from sight.

Vau put two and two together.

"You like what you see? Want a private conversation? Then you'll have to pay for it." He looked behind him, "she has several men wanting a _private conversation_ this evening."

Vau watched her face as the man spoke, she had closed her eyes the second he laid a hand on her shoulder, her body language demonstrated one of shame mixed with disgust.

"How much for the night?"

Gem's eyes sprung open and she held her breath.

'_Oh no, not again?'_

"All night? Well, that'll take a lot of credits, she one of the favourites," he replied.

Vau pulled a handful of gold credits from his pocket and threw them across the table as of no consequence. He finished his drink and stood up, holding her hand as she led the way past the other men, up the stairs and into a small room.

Vau took in his surrounds. It was shabby and it smelled like the type of room used for the likes of the men downstairs. He moved his way over and sat down in an old leather chair only to look up and see her lift the tunic above her head.

Within seconds she was naked.

"No, no! Damn it! Put that back on," he stammered before he noticed the scar running down her entire right side, then as she turned away, the blue Jaig eyes tattooed on the small of her back.

"Let's get this clear. I'm here to talk about _that_ medal, nothing else."

Confused Gem began to fumble as she put her dress back on, struggling with all sorts of emotions.

She knew he was her ticket off this planet, maybe her one chance to finally get home.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the medal off from around her neck once again and handed it to him.

"You've seen clones before haven't you?"

"Yes," she replied.

"You've known one intimately?" She was mesmerised by his voice while watching him turn the medal over in his large brown hands.

"Yes," she breathed.

Walon looked at the medal and then back at the woman. She looked scrappy, her hair cut unnaturally short, there was a bruise over her left eye and her lip was cut; she'd been knocked about. He thought for a minute while taking in her appearance.

"You're high born," he took a chance, "this isn't where you belong."

"I could say the same of you," she took his bait, her foolish pride once again her downfall.

_Just like her mother._

"You sit straight. Choose and pronounce your words correctly. Your hands bear no scars or calluses. Your clothes, although dusty, are of good quality, and you collect antiques. Fine antiques," Gem straightened as she spoke. There was no need to try and act coy now, he was on to her and all she needed to do was work out a price.

He laughed openly before he asked.

"OK. Who was he then? Medal man?"

She looked at him directly in the eye and replied, "my husband."

.

"Change of plans Ordo, we're taking a guest back with us." Vau was walking and talking fast. "Ready the ship, we leave in fifteen, OK?"

"Sarge?"

"Just do it!" he spat back disappearing into a shop around the corner.

Ordo muttered a string of profanities as he went inside and began the take off sequence. This was more than he bargained for.

It always was where Vau was concerned.

She was there fifteen minutes later with only a small bag, her guitar and wearing a cloak over her simple tunic. She looked around nervously, but trusted for some reason this man who offered her the opportunity to work, live comfortably and most of all, keep the medal.

_"Anything, anything,"_ she had said, _"an honest living, anything but what I have to endure here."_

As she made her way towards the craft, Walon Vau extended his hand. He knew desperation when he saw it and for some reason, instead of being the mature prick he was renowned for, he had offered something to someone with nothing.

She reminded him of a time long ago, when he saw himself lost and alone.

Just like her.

So Gem took his arm as he lead her up the ramp and disappeared inside the small yacht and unbeknownst to her into a place that would see her face the demons that dwelled just below the surface, the ones that had constantly nipped away at her soul.

Whatever remained of it.

...


	46. Chapter 46

**Forty Five**

* * *

Gem looked around anxiously as she made her way into the passenger hold. It was small craft, only housing two in the rear with the pilots up front. She couldn't help but stare at the mass of shiny black hair in the seat flicking switches and readying for take-off.

"If you don't mind Ma'am, you're making me nervous," Ordo said without turning around.

"I'm sorry," she replied, "it's just that - "

"Come along Ordo. I'm not getting any younger," Vau interjected as he sat heavily in the co-pilots chair. He knew the commando was annoyed at the side trip to the tavern and now the unaccounted for passenger. Ordo didn't like surprises and Vau hadn't elaborated further about the woman they were suddenly transporting.

Gem pulled her cloak in tight and curled up in her seat fully intending to get some sleep when she heard the soft plonking of an animal sitting at her feet.

"That's Mird," Vau said roughly.

Bending down to pat the Strill she replied, "hello Mird, I'm Cariss."

She'd keep the pseudonym to herself.

As well as the owner of the medal's identity.

It was all she had.

A bargaining tool of sorts.

What she couldn't understand was why she'd agreed to leave with a man she barely knew?

She couldn't answer that question herself.

But what she did know was that he was somehow connected to the Republic.

And ultimately, her past.

It didn't matter how tenuous, there was _that link_, something they had in common.

Vau's gruff persona didn't fool her in the slightest, she could sense that he meant her no harm.

The destination also didn't matter, she had been found for a reason.

And it beat the alternative.

She had put two and two together.

Finally she was back amongst her own.

.

She woke to hear the men preparing for landing and looked out the window at the planet before they entered the atmosphere. It was predominately blue and white, she guessed cold and on landing she was right in her evaluation. The cool air engulfed the craft as the ramp was lowered. Gem wrapped her cloak around her once again and picked up her belongings and sighed.

She would start once again.

Another stop _enroute_ home.

She was getting used to new beginnings.

.

It was bright.

The sunshine glared off the snow and she squinted as she walked down the ramp, stopping at the bottom, there she shielded her eyes and looked around.

She needn't have bothered, there was nothing to see.

Mird bound out in front followed quickly by Vau. Slowly she made out a few figures and watched as a smaller man approached.

_Where had they come from?_

She knew they were talking about her: both men turned to face her before continuing their conversation.

Vau seemed animated and threw his hand away as if in some argument with the other, then stormed on ahead, the loyal Strill by his side.

Lost and momentarily confused she stumbled forward, tripping in the snow but always aware of the two brown eyes boring on her back. Ordo stood behind, his hand resting on the ramp supports before he lifted his wrist and spoke.

"We have a visitor," he said carefully as he watched her take her first tentative steps towards redemption.

Gem watched as the small entourage moved forward to greet them.

"My name is Kal."

His voice sounded familiar.

"You're a guest of Vau's and as such, are welcome here as long as you need to be. No questions asked, for now."

For a second there appeared to be a flicker of recognition; a memory, a face, but neither could put a finger on it.

"Thank you. I'm grateful for your help."

"Well," he said slowly, still racking his mind for a name, "follow Parja, she'll show you the ropes."

He then buried his hands deep into his coat pockets and trudged past towards Ordo who remained still on the ramp. Kal flicked his head back ever so slightly, and to the untrained eye it would have been nothing, but to the trained commando it was a question, one he quickly answered.

"We were in some bar on Kayl. He was flogging more of his stuff. She recognised me right up though."

"There's something familiar about her, I just can't put my finger on it," Kal seemed annoyed his memory kept teasing him. But in reality, without the right name, there was nothing about Representative Skylar Gem that he would have recognised. All that arrived was a thin, pale woman with hair no more than two inches in length. The hollow eyes of grief and suffering were ones he did recognise however.

"Apparently she has a MMB? Did you see it?"

Ordo swung around fast. "Nope, Vau said nothing the _shakuur_."

"Well, she's here now. You get the other supplies?"

"Yeah, in the hold."

"Good."

But Ordo could sense that Kal was anything but.

The arrival of the woman had unnerved them all, in different ways, and the fact that they knew nothing about her other than Vau had vouched for her character made them all the more so.

.

The next thing Gem remembered was waking up in a clean bed.

Her clothes had been removed and she wore a modest nightdress with a small amount of lace on the bodice. At the end of the bed were several other items of clothing; underwear, trousers, a thick sweater, boots and a jacket.

On a hanger over a door was a blouse in the palest of blue.

"Steady on there girl," it was a woman's voice. "Name's Rav. Rav Braelor. You took a nasty blow to the back of your head, knocked yourself out good and proper."

She looked at the woman, late fifties, long grey hair and skin that had seen too much sun. She had wrinkles around her eyes, which while not attractive, were kind and honest.

"You got a tongue in that head of yours?" She said as she fussed around the bed.

"What happened?"

"Seems the trip was too much for you. Just keeled over as you came through the door. Gave everyone a fright you did, but our doc has checked out your head and says you'll be fine. You'll need a full medical though, when you're up to it."

Gem lifted her hand up and touched the sore spot, wincing with the pain.

"My name is Cariss," Gem felt such a phoney being deceitful about her true identity after she had been so well looked after, but until she knew exactly where she was, she would keep all her cards close to her chest.

"Well, hello there young Cariss," Rav softened. She was a burly woman, more than capable and Gem immediately liked her no nonsense approach.

"Nothing a few days rest won't fix. Now, when you're ready, there's something to eat. Force knows you could do with a good feed," she muttered.

Try as she might, the last thing Gem could do was rest.

The concussion left her with a headache that made sleep impossible. So after hours of enforced rest, she decided to discover this new place that had inadvertently become her new home. She looked into the mirror after she had finished dressing and for the first time in ages forced her eyes to look at herself.

There was nothing Rex would have recognised.

Her hair, once long, dark and lustrous was cropped badly and lacked shine and health. She also noticed a few grey hairs sprouting though and her skin was sallow from lack of exercise and fresh air. Gone was the woman that had left Oriis all those years ago to forge a new career in politics and in it's place was a dependant, weak, worn out hull of her former self.

And how she hated herself all the more for it.

But for some reason, she seemed to have more lives than a Dire Cat.

She bit her lips and pinched her cheeks to afford some colour but all it did was hurt.

_Why am I even bothering?_

She walked the labyrinth until she heard voices, female voices and made her way towards them. Steeling herself in the corridor she quietly entered what would be the hub of the complex; the kitchen.

It would be her haven for the next four weeks, until everything she had been trying to bury would resurface in such a way she never thought possible.

She had remembered the man, the short one, who had still yet to recognise her.

Not that she had seen him often, twice at most over the course of the lunar month. She kept well away from everyone at the complex, her only visitor being Vau on the odd occasion to check in on her.

She worked at night, keeping the fires in the complex burning and the kitchen cleaned. The laundry would be in the early hours of the morning; ironing and folding so many clothes she would often wonder just how many people she was laundering for.

All the same size.

She wasn't stupid, and knew she had to keep away from the soldiers that had escaped the Empire. She knew that if she looked at just one, she would see his eyes staring back and she was for the first time in her life, ashamed.

Ashamed of what she had done, ashamed at what she had become.

It was all her fault, all her doing.

So she just worked.

At the rate she was being payed Gem knew she would be able to leave soon, with credits to spare.

Rav and Laseema would leave out notes about the food to be prepared for the breakfast run.

It was never ending and by 0500, she would slink back into the sanctuary of her room and fall into bed exhausted.

Sleep was never a problem, it was the dreams that dogged them she had trouble dealing with. Often she would wake with pain searing down her right side and in a lather of sweat.

On those occasions she would retrieve the medal and hold it close to her chest.

That damn medal had given her another chance; a way out of a bad situation, as if it was guiding her towards something better.

Just as Rex would have done.

Not that she deserved it.

Only then would she fall back to sleep, her fingers entwined in the rich fabric of the ribbon.

.

"Where the _fek_ do you think you're going?"

"You know Chopper," Jesse replied, "you really should learn some manners," he said as he slung the small pack over his shoulder.

"You heard what I said?"

Jesse sighed, "Kayl."

"You have to be joking _ner vod_?"

Jesse swung around fast and was within millimetres of Choppers scarred face in a second.

"You said it yourself," he hissed in anger, "Rex _is alive_ and she _should_ know, not rot in some _osik hole_ of a planet thinking her entire family is dead!"

"And that's your job? With the entire Empire out looking for AWOL men, that's _your job_?"

"I made a promise."

"To who?"

"To the captain. Then _and now!_"

"But you thought nothing of leaving her behind?"

"That's before I knew."

"Jesse, c'mon. Whisk is_ dying_."

Jesse's shoulders visibly slumped, "_elek._ Coric told me. I'm sorry, I really am Chopper, but you know _I have_ to do this."

"But we don't even know where he is! What's the good of knowing if she can't do anything about it?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and you know it."

Chopper looked down at his hands, "you going with that fancy man of yours?"

Jesse nodded, "as soon as I get the intel to her I'll come back, you have my word."

Chopper moved forward and held Jesse's head close to his, "you'd better, I'm not sure I can do this on my own brother."

"What? You've got Boil and Coric to keep you company. You know me, I just cause more trouble than I'm worth!" He tried to force a smile but both men knew this would probably be the last time they would speak.

"I love you _ner vod._"

The words were as true as the scarred face that said them.

"I love you too," Jesse replied before he smiled, "_you old_ \- "

"Yeah, yeah. Bishwag," he said.

...


	47. Chapter 47

**Forty Six**

* * *

Echo leaned up against the wall and took a sip of his now cold _caf_. He'd spent the better half of the afternoon just listening to their inane banter.

_Fek, it annoyed him._

The small group, consisting of Ahsoka, Fives, Rex and Stoyan had decided to ignore his belligerent behaviour even though they felt uncomfortable under Echo's scrutinising eye.

He never joined in.

He just stood in the corner listening.

_Sulking._

It was awkward, there was no denying it, but they continued on, outlining their plan, hoping he would eventually come round.

He wanted to, but then again, he couldn't.

To do so meant he had let go of the past.

Stoyan had tried.

"_Echo, son, listen to me. You have to face them. Now. Use this time to move forward, otherwise it will eat you away from the inside out. Trust me when I say this."_

But Echo played it cool. He had evolved past the career soldier and was mentally the best he had ever been.

Or so he thought.

"_I want them gone. Tomorrow they leave."_

Over the course of their stay the anger he had buried deep had resurfaced and Stoyan was worried how it would manifest itself.

So there they all sat, talking about the work they were going to finish and how they were going to _'save them all from ageing.'_

_Nerf osik._

All the talk of research, vaccines and DNA only reminded him of Marlo.

_She would know what to do. _

Or she would know someone who did.

The only thing Echo understood from the animated discussion was that they collectively _knew nothing._

Without a proper geneticist, Stoyan's DNA was about as useful as a Tauntaun on Tantooine.

Echo finally sounded his annoyance as he placed his cup on the wooden table in front of him.

"You have something you'd like to add Echo?"

Rex had asked a reasonable question, and during the four days since arriving he had tried, somewhat unsuccessfully to get him to engage. But everything he said or did had been met with the same cold shoulder.

Rex sighed.

The initial thrill of finding Echo alive had begun to sour.

Was he was truly lost to them all?

The most heartbreaking for Rex was watching the interaction between his two ARC's.

The former captain didn't care in the slightest what Echo thought of him.

During his command he was used to his men internalising their anger towards a decision he'd made; he was used to making the hard calls.

Their _respect_ meant more to him than any friendship.

But seeing Echo push his best friend away was harder than any battle fought.

The physical appearance of the two was difficult as well. He knew all the work he and Tash had put into Fives' rehab would be for nothing if they continued to stay and place him under the relentless denial and anger from Echo.

"So you know how to do the tests, right?" There it was again, the malevolence in his voice, another snide remark.

"Well, no. Actually we don't. But how hard can it be right?" Ahsoka was trying to remain upbeat even though she had sensed his dark cloud descend over the house.

You had to give it to her though, Ahsoka had singlehandedly come up with a contingency to the problem facing them all.

Longevity.

"Besides, we have a manual, and there's always the holonet," her smile and cheerful demeanour just antagonised him more, "and there must be someone we can get to work it out if - "

Echo roared with laughter, "do you even hear yourselves? It's not like fixing a bung speeder or making one of your famous glow sticks," he threw his head back and continued laughing at her expense.

It was mean.

That was it for Rex.

Echo could poke as much fun at the men as he wanted, but his lack of respect for Ahsoka was unacceptable.

"That's enough!" he growled and he saw Echo momentarily straighten, as if being reprimanded on the field during an extract. As hard as Echo tried to deny it, the old soldier was still there.

Struggling, but still there.

Rex knew he had him, then and there.

The others looked on, knowing this was a long time coming.

"Echo." The wire door shut unceremoniously in his face as he pushed it open and stood on the verandah.

"_What do you want from me?" _Echo swung around and bellowed back, his arms open in question_, "she's_ not the CO anymore."

"No, but you know better than that."

"You've got to be kidding," he smiled. "I'll be stuffed if I have to sit and listen to her wax lyrical about being in charge of _our_ future!"

Rex saw the anger simmering just below the surface.

The truth be told, Rex had always been closer to Fives. The two had similar personalities; fought their battles out in the open, improvising on the hop. Echo on the other hand had always been the more regimented, by-the-book-type.

Until now.

Now, Rex was struggling with the man standing in front of him.

"You've got what you came for, pack up your little DNA _whatever_, and leave us alone."

Rex felt as though he had been slapped across the face.

He persisted, though, "Echo, _ner vod_, I thought now would be a - "

Echo moved with such speed it stopped Rex dead in his tracks.

"You just don't give up do you? And, for reference, I'm not _your brother_. I don't even know why _you all_ use that language anyway, Jango was Concordian."

Another opening, no matter how minuscule.

"I know that Echo. But he was accepted into a clan on Mandalore."

"Stoyan is more of a role model than Jango ever was."

"I know that as well, but he's also _Jetii_ Echo."

"That's rich, coming from you. You loved kissing the Jedi's arse so much you're back sleeping with one," he flicked his head back towards the house.

"This is about me isn't it? Come on, have a go."

"No."

"I'm not hiding behind any rank now Echo."

The ARC looked Rex up and down, "you're out of condition, there's no victory in that."

"I might not be in peak physical shape, but I could still take you."

Echo slapped both his thighs hard, "look at me, I have the height advantage now Rex." He laughed again as he bent down to pick up an errant toy of Marek's. "You can't make up for that day Rex. None of _YOU_," he was seething, and he almost, almost lost the control he was battling so hard to maintain. "Oh _fek_ it. It doesn't matter now anyway."

"Yes it does Echo. It does matter. I need to know, _we all_ do. It's something Fives thinks about every day."

"Ha! That's a crock and you know it. I'm not biting Rex."

Rex could tell that Echo was mentally as well as physically tough, but the time to act was now.

It came natural, the rush, the tone. A battle, no matter how small sent his ears ringing with adrenaline.

"CT-21-0408 stand down."

"_Fek you."_

Rex lunged forward and caught him by surprise; and there it began.

Echo was right in saying that he held a certain advantage. The extra height and physical strength was apparent and within a minute Rex knew he was in for a walloping.

Ahsoka and Fives were alerted to the fight from inside the house, Stoyan followed them out.

"Echo! That's enough," he yelled as he saw him hit in Rex in quick succession in the face.

"Butt out, this is between me and the captain, _argh_."

Rex might have been down, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Leave them be," Ahsoka said as she turned from the two men. She knew they had to sort this out for themselves. Rex was beaten, and watching him be pummelled to a pulp wouldn't help anyone.

.

"_Argh! Fek_," Rex was on all fours as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Pushing himself to standing he was greeted with another punch to his flank, which brought him to his knees for a second time.

"Give up!" Echo screamed at him, his chest heaving.

"No," Rex managed to cough out.

"_Fek_, you just don't get it do you? So smart and in charge of everything and everyone, it's right there, in front of you face, but you still don't see it do you?"

"_You_ made a mistake that day Echo. You alone were to blame." It was a risky thing to say, but Rex knew Echo was too wound up not to accept the bait. Rex had managed to sit back on his haunches, his hands supporting his bruised body.

"Yes, I made the mistake that day, but no one mentioned hers!" He swung an arm wildly around indicating the commander inside the house. "No one said anything about Ahsoka disobeying orders after we all defrosted did they?"

"The commander was instrumental in getting the intel back to Ground Zero."

"Oh what-ever Rex. You'd bail her out no matter what. Her and Skywalker, and look where _he got you!"_

"No one could have seen that Echo, no one knew the Sith were there from the beginning."

"It's ironic isn't it," Rex turned to look at him as he spoke, spit flying out his mouth in anger, "that we were made for this. _This_. Think abut it. We were made to turn on the very people you spent your life defending."

"They were our orders."

"Orders! Ahsoka never obeyed orders, neither did Skywalker."

"This isn't getting us anywhere Echo."

"You'd save their sorry _shebese_ time and again but no one came back to find me. _A brother!_ I was lying there waiting to be found. I always had your backs. But no one bothered to see if I was still alive. Broken and bleeding if it weren't for a complete stranger, a _fekking_ _Seppie_ no less, I would have died there and then on the spot. But no, she saw more in me than any of you ever did!"

Now the tears came.

The release.

"I gave everything to the army and you abandoned me."

"We had a mission Echo, we had to get - "

"Get what? That arse wipe Tarkan is now out there working for the other side, ordering cruisers that _I'm_ building – there's irony staring at you."

"I'm sorry Echo. I'm sorry we never came back."

"I don't want your pity," he said shaking his head and looking down at Rex, "I just need you to get the _fek _off this planet and never come back."

"Echo."

It was Freya.

She had waited and watched the altercation from the kitchen window alone. She knew the pain Echo had felt with being wounded and the rehabilitation he received from the hands of a talented surgeon. The others didn't and they never would. "It's time to come back inside darling, Marek is waiting for his story."

Echo refocussed and smiled at his wife. She always knew how to reign him in, make him see sense.

Everything he did was for her.

.

The following morning they packed up and quietly left the house. With several samples of Stoyan's DNA the mission of sorts, had been deemed a success. They had achieved what they set out to do.

Although they had got more than they bargained for in finding Echo.

They would respect his privacy and file the encounter away with all the other heartbreak they had encountered as enlisted men.

Two days later at the cruiser terminal they broke into groups, Ahsoka left the two men on their own as she boarded the shuttle alone.

Rex held a guiding arm under Fives as he helped him step onto the ramp.

Then a voice from behind that startled them both.

"Here, let me help you."

Echo took most of the other ARC's weight and effortlessly pulled him onto the ship.

Rex said nothing. The relief of having succeeded caught in his chest.

Fives couldn't, the emotion was still raw as he looked at Echo bewildered.

"Well, someone needs to make sure you both get back alive."

The table had been turned yet again.

That revolving door of their lives.

He moved Fives down to a seat and cleared his throat, "also, I've read up on this gene therapy. You'll need to treat the samples appropriately until you find someone more suitable to work out the manipulations, otherwise everything in that thermos will be useless."

"Thank you Echo."

"Don't thank me, I've got a vested interest in this too."

The hatch closed, along with Ahsoka's large blue eyes.

She'd been watching them from another seat.

She was deeply hurt.

It had been a steep learning curve for her also.

She never knew the men thought of her as a liability during the war.

Like her Master; some orders just needed to be broken, but in doing so she had broken men, _good men_, like Echo.

It dawned on her then, the sense of enormity in making sure she did this one thing right for them.

They may have questioned her intentions, but never her orders.

It was time for her to make amends.

Starting now.

…

Thanks to Sly for eyeballing this before it went out. Your thoughts and honesty are greatly appreciated. Happy New Year. As always, write a review if you feel inclined. 782


	48. Chapter 48

**Forty Seven**

* * *

_For as long as I can remember, Whisk has been the centre of my universe._

_Like the sun, I have orbited around him my entire life._

_Slow and consistent._

_And he knew them, better than me._

_My dark nights and bright days were solely due to one person._

_At my worst he would shine that beautiful light in my direction without being seen by the ever watchful eye of the Kaminoan's._

_I knew my tipping points, and instead of worrying about them, he was always there to manage them. _

_Me._

_I don't know how to survive without him, but something tells me I know I am going to have too._

_Sooner rather than later._

_Who will pull me in? _

_Who will help with the compulsive episodes that overtake my mind and inhabit my body?_

_Who will radiate that warmth and make everything all right?_

_._

A silence had descended over the small house.

Chopper coped with it the only way he knew how; deflection.

_Denial._

Whatever it was, he encompassed it.

Pulling extra shifts for anyone left behind to care for Whisk during his last… last whatever they were;

Days.

Hours.

Minutes.

Every second was precious.

And he was there, to help in whatever capacity he could.

As long as he didn't have to be, at the end.

The unflappable on the other hand, was all over the place. Whisk would watch Coric and smile.

"Will you just relax?"

"How's the aches? Are you in pain?"

"I'm feeling ok, really."

Coric wasn't convinced. "Let me take your temperature."

"Enough!"

That strong voice that could order even the most senior officer on the field had retuned and they all momentarily stood still.

"Didge?"

"Here."

"Get me outside."

"Sure," he looked over at Coric for the permission.

"Don't look to him!" Whisk was mildly annoyed, "look at me."

_But I don't want to. _

_Looking at you makes it real. _

Didge moved past the others and lifted his vat brother effortlessly in his arms.

_The strong fit man is now completely gone and in it's wake is something I've never had to deal with. We've all seen death, watched suffering, but this, this is something we were never programmed for._

_The wasting away, and that fekking cough, I swear if I hear that again I will lose my mind._

Boil looks away.

He knows what's coming.

The heartbreak.

The tears.

But there is simply nothing any one of them can do.

"Over there, by the tree." Whisk had worked it through in his own mind and it was time. Didge placed him down gently into the seat Chopper had built specifically for him.

"Thanks," he said breathless.

_How can that even be?_

Didge moved back, not looking at him. He hadn't done that in such a while and Whisk caught his head in his hands quickly.

"Let me look at you."

_No._

"You're gonna be ok, you know that?"

"_Shh_. Stop talking like that will ya?"

"Listen to Coric, trust Chopper. They've been around the block a few times."

He smiled closing his eyes and let the sunshine warm his face.

_Warm mine._

"And Boil?"

"What about him?" Didge replied defensively.

"You've just answered my question."

"Is there anything you _don't_ know?"

"No."

"I don't think I can do this without you?" Didge whispered as he automatically began pulling his fingers.

"Stop that," Whisk said strongly, "you're over that now." Didge clenched both fists then dropped them beside his sides. Whisk smiled, "that's better. Can you get me a drink?"

_Good, a job. I can do anything but sit and watch this._

Didge raced inside as Whisk stared up at the blue sky. Listening to his own breathing he revelled in the sheer beauty above him; clear, blue and still.

It was his time.

Everything seemed to then go into slow motion. Like someone had flipped a switch.

"So this is what it feels like?" He mused.

The medic in him realising this was his last battle.

He hadn't been shot and given a quick end, he wasn't in any pain, other than the emotional tugging of his heart.

He had lost the fight.

For the first time in his life, he was truly alone, and he was scared.

He turned his head to see Boil and Didge come out of the house together followed by their startled look as they began to run towards him.

They were shouting something, but he couldn't hear, his eyes concentrating on the water container that Didge held being thrown unceremoniously to the ground.

The precious liquid which could mean life and death on the field being absorbed by the earth.

Just like him.

"What a waste," Whisk whispered as he closed his eyes for the last time.

_What a waste._

…


	49. Chapter 49

**Forty Eight**

* * *

Gem had excelled at avoiding the main inhabitants of Kyrimorut. The shift she worked meant that they were mostly asleep while she quietly went about her business.

As silent as a mouse.

For reasons she was yet to determine, they left her alone.

It was as if she was a ghost.

Someone who just appeared in the dead of night and worked the laundry; clearing the kitchen and preparing for _their_ next day.

Just like the service droids back on Coruscant.

The room she had been allocated near the kitchen had no windows, so within a month her body had well and truly acclimated to the night hours.

Day or night didn't matter now.

No one bothered her.

No one asked.

She knew the women were dying to though.

Ask a question, dig a little deeper.

It was as if she was 'off limit's. Her real name, her true identity, everything about her was a lie.

She enjoyed the anonymity.

But Gem had stupidly become complacent.

She had begun to stay behind a little longer during the change over in the morning.

There was nothing like the aroma of that first brewed_ caf_, and for all intents and purposes, Laseema was a wiz with whatever food she was preparing.

And always so cheery.

So she would sit and enjoy the slight _Twi'lek _bustling around, flicking on switches and cracking eggs, listening to the sizzle of streaky bacon crackle in the pan before she would disappear back into the darkness.

_Her darkness._

But one morning she stayed just a little - too - long.

.

"There you are?"

Rex looked up and wiped his hands on a cloth hanging loosely from his hip pocket.

"Did Echo get away alright?"

"Yes," Ahsoka said as she moved into the small shed. "I thought you'd come down to see him off."

He looked up and smiled, "I said my goodbyes yesterday."

"I'll never get used to the way you men operate."

"We're good Ahsoka. It was more important for Fives to spend time with him." He moved past her and put the spanners back into the tool box. He had begun sorting through the garage, replacing items that were lost or misplaced over time. "It sounds as though he made good progress with the DNA samples?"

"I switched off when he went into detail about cleaving and scissors," she laughed. "I think the crux of it is that we now need a geneticist."

"Hmm?" Rex continued to work around her. He was uncomfortable with finding someone to come to the property and even more so in having to explain why they were needed. Tash had some connections back on Coruscant through the hospital. One way or another they would find someone to continue the work Echo had started.

"What are you doing anyway?" Ahsoka looked around the garage. Rex had covered the two speeders with large drop cloths, and on the dirt floor was his uneaten lunch and drink container.

"Well," he said slowly, "the electronic regulator of the door was - "

She drifted off while he continued to outline what he had spent the entire afternoon working on. Ahsoka used the time to eye over every part of him in detail.

Drill pants, the blue ones he wears when he's wandering around the property. Littered with holes and oil stains, she knew they were his favourite and in them he was at his happiest; relaxed.

_Sexy._

She blushed slightly as she watched his muscles move underneath the simple short sleeved shirt. Sweat had seeped through under the arms and around the neck.

_Is it hot in here?_

Her eyes went up his neck to his hair. He had taken to growing it, and what struck her instantly was the fact that it was no longer blonde, but white. It dawned on Ahsoka then that the work they had half heartedly thought they could do was paramount, not only to Rex, but to his daughter.

He was ageing right before her very eyes.

Rex had stopped talking and had turned around, intently watching her.

_Watching him._

There had been nothing more than that kiss on the porch on Scillal. The lightest of touches had rekindled a fire that had long simmered for the young Togrutan.

Both of them apparently too scared to move forward with the relationship that had taken a lifetime to evolve.

"I know what you're doing," he said without changing his tone.

"You do huh?" She could play the same game. "Well. Then you would _know_ that I want you to take your shirt off?"

Rex stilted for a moment, then allowed her to move even closer.

_This is it._

He stood perfectly straight and without taking a well trained eye off her, lifted his arms and allowed her to remove his shirt. Ahsoka then ran her hands gently down his torso, noticing the goose bumps that followed her fingers. While she was admiring his chest he moved fast, lifting her up onto the work bench in one fluid movement then pulling her legs forward, wrapping them behind him.

They were connected and Ahsoka could feel him hard between her legs.

The sensation caught her breath.

Everything she had dreamed of had come full circle.

Here was the man she adored for so long looking at her the way she had only ever imagined.

But there was something different about him, something she couldn't quite place.

Or remember.

She didn't want to kill the moment by asking.

But he did.

"Commander?"

The corner of her mouth twisted up ever so slightly.

"Make love to me captain, and that's an order."

...


	50. Chapter 50

**Forty Nine**

* * *

Gem liked Rav Bralor.

Every morning she would appear like clockwork at the kitchen door, thumping off her snow-covered boots and reaching for the coveted first cup of _caf_.

Then she would scrape the chair back from the table and sit, blowing on the hot black liquid before taking a loud sip. Laseema would sound her annoyance by slamming the condiments onto the food trolley and Rav would smile at having achieved the required effect.

Again.

"So, Cariss. Listen up," she spoke like one of soldiers, which wasn't surprising considering she was ex _Cuy'val Dar_, "I have a favour to ask."

Gem continued to stare at her food, her mind wandering.

"I swear you do that _every _time."

The silence that descended over the room made Gem look up.

"What? Sorry, pardon?"

"It's like you're always thousand light years away isn't it?" she mused then repeated the question.

"I need a favour _Car-_riss," she said her name deliberately slow, but Gem didn't react, "I'm heading into Keldabe and won't be back 'til morning. I'm on the roster for dinner tonight, you'll have to serve." Rav often did trips into the main township for supplies but never stayed overnight.

Gem had to think, and fast.

She'd recognised the group; put two and two together. Kal, Fi and Laseema's relentless adoration of Atin made putting the puzzle together easy, and all without laying an eye on any of them.

She had masterly shelved memories of happier times and had no intention of revisiting any one of them anytime soon. She had enough money to get to Oriis; this was the Universe telling her it was time to move on.

"I don't think so," she said as she collected her plate and moved it over to the sink.

Rav tasted blood and with a level voice replied, "you're a guest here. No one has asked any more of you other than a decent days work. You've never joined us for an evening meal, something of an oddity in itself considering the culture of these people. One night. Serving it. Is all I ask."

Gem stood at the sink and looked at her reflection in the window.

They wouldn't know who she was, she no longer recognised herself.

"OK, one night," she said, surprising both women behind her, "I'll be back at 1700."

With that, Cariss, Gem or who ever she had become, left them in stunned silence.

Rav looked over at the dumbstruck Laseema, "well, she'll either try a runner or be here at 1700. I can't do any more."

.

Rex rolled off Ahsoka and stared up at the ceiling.

There was an air of awkwardness as they both tried to regain their breath.

And composure.

"Well," he said after a short while, "_that's_ never happened before."

Ahsoka was racking her brain for a smart reply, but she drew a blank.

So for the first time in her life, she remained silent.

Rex went to get up but she quickly rolled onto his chest, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. There she closed her eyes and snuggled into him.

Their afternoon tryst may not have gone as planned, but it was pivotable for her to deflect the anxiety and disappointment Rex must have been feeling. So they both lay naked on a drop sheet on the floor of the garage and fell into a deep sleep.

They were both woken by Fives flashing a torchlight in their face two hours later.

"If you two are quite finished here, dinner's on the table and Piia needs a bath."

.

Gem moved into the dining area and set the long table.

Her hair had grown over the past four weeks, but she had taken to covering it with a linen scarf. She looked nothing like the woman who once represented her home world in the Galactic Senate.

It would be an understatement to say she wasn't petrified of wheeling the trolley laden with food into the room once they were all seated. Steeling herself, she pulled the scarf a little lower on her forehead and with eyes down she knocked and entered.

"Well, this does look very nice, thank you Cariss," Kal boomed. She quickly glanced around and noticed Laseema sitting next to a man with a huge scar running down the side of his face.

There is was, the scar she had seen before, validating what she knew to be true.

It was them, the group that she had met on Coruscant.

Panic began to rise, as she looked further around the room.

Vau could see she was uncomfortable. This was the first time she had been with everyone, and they were just as curious as to who this 'mystery' woman with the MMB was.

"How you getting on Cariss?"

"Well. Thank you Vau."

"It's nice to see you at the table. Finally"

"Rav is in Keldabe for the night, I'm just helping out this evening." She quickly moved on, wanting to get everyone served so she could leave.

Gem kept her head down, acutely aware of another man, not a clone soldier staring at her strangely.

Had she met him before? She didn't have time to think, the distraction of remembering would consume too much time. So she kept wheeling the cart to each person seated and continued to serve the meal.

And everything was going along just fine; she was sure she hadn't been recognised, half the table had been served and they all respected her right to privacy by not asking any intrusive questions. Gem even dared to smile as she delivered the food to Parja.

_I've done it, I've done it._

Then the sound that splintered her heart and opened up the rawest of wounds.

Time appeared to slow down and a muffled sound fogged her brain and sent her pulse thumping through her ears.

_Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub..._

Slowly she turned to see a small boy being bounced around on a man's lap.

It was too much; the heat from the fireplace, the aroma of the food.

The sound of the child.

Gem dropped the serving forks and they cluttered to the floor, unintentionally drawing everyone's attention back to her. She flushed bright red and staggered to maintain an ounce of self-control.

_Fekking Rav. I should never have agreed to this._

But the damage had been done.

That sound was more painful than the cauterising hiss of vessels being burnt by the light sabre just on a year ago.

"I get this weird feeling I've seen her before," Fi whispered softly to Parja. "She looks familiar. I just wish I could remember." He sat there pressing his fingers to his forehead, willing himself to remember.

Kal sat at the end, the head of the table.

The _buir._

He couldn't help but watch with interest the interaction of the others to the new comer.

It was part of his training, to observe.

She was bright red, the heat burning her cheeks and making her uncomfortable, but she kept moving.

As she was serving the last clone she inadvertently looked up to meet his gaze, he smiled, "thank you." She nodded before she overheard the conversation of the man with the boy seated next to him.

_What was his name again?_

"It's not right that he'll never know how wonderful his mother was."

"He has all of us to remind him Darman, and he has Etain's eyes." Kal's voice boomed down the table.

_Darman, that's right._

She could tell Kal was trying hard to lift his spirits, remain upbeat, "time son, just give yourself some time."

Darman shook his head, nothing was going to lift his spirit's tonight, least of all soothing words from his old drill sergeant, the one who had cost him precious time with his partner. He swung from mood to mood, a normal reaction to grief and life as a single parent.

"No one knows what we've lost in Etain."

Gem forgot where she was momentarily, and clicked her tongue.

He was all over it.

"You have something you'd like to add?"

Silence descended over the room.

She stood a little straighter, "every person in this room has lost something they'll never get back."

It was true.

Not one person sitting at the long table had missed out on being affected.

The silence and eyes boring down on her was exhausting.

She turned her back to push the trolley out when she stupidly continued, "maybe you should focus on what you have, not what you've lost." It was the first time most of them had ever seen Gem, let lone hear her speak.

There they all sat, their mouths agog.

"You sound like a _kriffing_ Jedi," Darman exploded.

Who was this nobody to tell _him_ how _he_ should feel?

Kal didn't say anything. It was the first time, and quite frankly about time, someone had challenged Darman's verbal assault on his life. She was right; even with the loss of his partner, he still had a lot to be thankful for.

"_And what would you know about what I have lost?"_ he bellowed.

She shuddered under his harsh words.

Then the giggling from the infant again, the reminder of exactly that.

Her loss.

It was now time.

She stood completely straight, as if about to deliver a speech in the Senate.

"I know you Republic Commandos think yourselves better than the regular men, I've seen it first hand. And I'm sure you've have earned it. But how you can sit there and whine 'woe is me,' is not only juvenile it's disrespectful considering the people seated in this room. You may have endured the more difficult and rigorous training and ops, but what," she stopped for a moment, scrunching her face to think, "what _was it_ you called them, that's right, what 'meat-can' wouldn't give his eye teeth to be in this position? Free, and sitting at a table eating regular food amongst _family_. We all lost something that night Darman, the pain you feel is no less than any of us."

The flood gate had finally opened.

She was now visibly shaking; everyone in the room knew she had a story to tell, but now they could see the suffering.

Kal stood from his chair slowly. "With all due respect Ma'am, I think it's high tide you tell us just exactly _who, was_ your husband?"

Gem turned to Kal, two tears streaked her face, one for each of her heart break.

"CC-7567."

…


	51. Chapter 51

**Fifty**

* * *

Maze had sat silently throughout the entire meal, quietly cheering on the serving girl brave enough to take on the commando.

He had agreed with everything she had said.

Ever since arriving at Kyrimorut, he had felt a lesser man.

His coveted commission within the GAR gone; his career disappearing in vapours the night it all went down.

And somewhere along the way Maze had lost something just as tangible as Darman; he had lost himself.

The Commando's remained a tight knit group.

Just like on Trip Zip.

Their bond to the old drill sergeants seemed unnatural.

_Unnerving._

Like Dire Cats waiting for orders to pounce.

They were bigger, better, but emotionally unstable compared to the regular men.

Who knew why?

Maybe it's because they were given a choice.

But they were an anomaly to Maze.

Not that he was complaining.

He could understand why, living with the likes of Vau and Skirata.

They were hard, it showed on their faces.

And their demeanour.

Maze felt uneasy around them, even though they had given him and Zey refuge, when they could have turned them away.

Or worse.

So here he sat at a table with men that would've never given him the time of day back on Coruscant.

Even though he was a captain.

_'Was_ a captain,' he reminded himself.

Rank meant nothing to these men then, and even less now.

Then his mind turned to the numbers she had said.

For some reason he knew them, and as soon as the credit dropped, he knew why.

They were infamous.

Synonymous with one man.

As long as those numbers marched back into the barracks, there was hope.

But with her simple admission, that hope suddenly seemed dashed.

Maze cleared his throat before he said quietly, "that was Captain Rex's designation."

Silence filled the room.

It was Fi that had them all turn to him.

Stammering and knocking over his glass with the simple act of remembering.

"I knew it! _I knew it!"_ Fi was visible excited, "remember Atin? Red man and _yellow guy?_"

Atin quickly glanced to both Darman then Kal, the realisation of her identity lost on every one else seated.

.

Niner had overslept.

Plodding along the corridor he hastily tucked his shirt into his pants and attempted to smooth down his hair as he dodged the woman pushing the food trolley down the corridor.

"Whoa, sorry," he said mildly annoyed as he watched his dinner being shunted in the opposite direction.

Barefoot and arriving late he was expecting a dressing down of sorts for his tardiness, but what he _wasn't_ expecting was the state of the room when he entered.

"What'd I miss?" he asked simply.

"What'd you miss? _What'd you miss!_" Fi was uncontrollable. "Vode_, it's her!_ The Representative from Oriis. Skylar_ Gem!"_

.

"What do you think they'll do?" Tash was pouring tea in the kitchen the following morning.

Since finding both Rex and Ahsoka in a 'compromising' position, Fives had been sullen and uncommunicative.

Brooding.

He had the house on tender hooks.

Again.

He knew Rex was blind when it came to anything concerning his former commander.

So he displayed his distaste by remaining silent, refusing to engage. This was Fives' MO. Tash knew it and she could sense the tension between Fives and Rex over dinner the night before.

"I mean, why shouldn't they get together?" The therapist had rationalised it in her own mind. "They're both alone and here, so why not, I say?"

"Because she - ," Fives stood from the table and thumped his mug down, spilling the hot drink all over himself. "What the _fek_? Oh _fek_ it! Let them do what they want. I don't give a _fekking osik_ anyway."

"Fives? What is it with you? Come on, talk to me. You haven't been the same since Echo left. This isn't like you!"

But it was where Ahsoka and Rex were concerned.

"No, you're right. They should be together. They _deserve_ each other."

He looked at her and then she saw it. His eyes were filled with emotion. There was history there and she wasn't about to delve now. The time would come.

So she changed tact, deflected.

Retreated.

"I got my period this morning."

Fives stopped and slumped slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"Yes, you know I am. Come here." She sighed and moved into his arms. Fives was standing a little straighter since Rex had him moving more, and he felt larger. It was what Tash needed right then.

To be held.

To dissolve away her disappointment.

Fives then pulled back and grinned.

"On the bright side, we now have another month to practise, right?"

Tash couldn't help but laugh, "you're encourageable."

.

The room was full of knowing eyes, turning to each other in silent question.

Niner to Kal, Atin to Dar.

But before anyone could say anything, Niner turned and ran back down the corridor.

The one most upset at the turn of events was Vau. He threw his fork down in from of him before he voiced his displeasure, "well, I believe I've lost my appetite."

Jusik was the next to speak, "she's Force sensitive."

That was when they heard it – the death defying scream of a tormented soul releasing itself from the darkest of places.

Jusik grabbed at his chest and fell forward on the table. Mij quickly pulled him upright in his seat

"That's it! _That's it!_ I want her out! We agreed, no more Force senstitives around Kad, didn't we?" He stood punching his fist onto the table, glassware and cutlery clinking with the impact, "DIDN'T WE?" Darman's chest was heaving.

"Sit down and _zip it_," Kal replied looking over at him. "No one is going _anywhere_ until I sort this mess out."

.

Niner ran into the early evening to see her pacing the snow before collapsing onto her knees. The sound had been tortured and even the seasoned commando winced at its intensity.

He knew what was happening here.

He knew the drill.

That _release_ that only came when one was pushed to their ultimate limit.

It always amazed Niner that when one was perceived to be at their weakest, they were also at the physical strongest. He'd seen it for himself too.

On Geonosis.

He couldn't underestimate her.

Knowing this, he moved forward slowly, with his hands raised slightly and spoke.

"Gem?"

She swung around wild.

"Don't you EVER call me that. That person is _dead_, you hear me? Dead!"

She looked at him and then he saw it.

_How did we miss this?_

It was her alright.

The woman he had met on Coruscant. She was still there; hidden, sorry, battered and bruised.

But still there.

All he had to do was remind her.

"Tell me how I can help?"

"Give me your blaster."

"You know I won't do that," he said shaking his head, "something else?"

"A knife then. Let me end it now," then whispering, "please let me go."

"Ah," Niner took a tentative step towards her and Gem backed up two, so he stopped. "I seem to remember a certain incident with a knife. That got you nowhere also as I recall."

She glared up at him. There it was; the fight and at that moment he knew he had her.

It was what Niner was good at.

The ability to read any given situation.

She was volatile, he could see that but with his training he also knew he had the upper hand.

All he had to do was get her inside out of the cold.

"You know," he said, "it's kinda cold out here," rubbing his hands together to warm them. And he saw her shoulders move slightly, the tension dissolve but then came a voice from behind.

"You ok out here _Ner'ika?_"

Niner swung an arm low, palm open to indicate he was in control.

Kal had to respect his decision.

He had trained him to do exactly this.

Then, "wind it up son."

Gem saw the intrusion as a threat, and the small amount of headway Niner had made quickly disappeared.

Not to worry, he's simply start again.

"Ok. There must be something I can do?"

"You can't! _Don't you get it?_ No one can!"

"Try me."

"Leave me alone," she slumped back into the snow on her knees.

"Well that's disappointing. I sort of expected more from you."

Gem blew out a breath and watched as it condensed and hang in the still air. She then raised herself up before she flew at him with such force he was momentarily taken aback.

Stumbling slightly he asked, "is that all you got?"

_"Arrhhhh,"_ she growled as she raised her arms and began to thrash around his face before he pushed her effortlessly back down.

"That's it! Hit me,_ blame me,_" he stood over her and yelled back.

She screamed and kicked him another time. Niner took each blow effortlessly.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" He was cajoling her, inciting her on to keep fighting.

He had achieved what he set out to do, she was exhausting herself.

.

"How long they been at it," Atin asked as he opened the conservator for a drink.

Fi looked at his chrono, "17.5 on my mark."

"Should we go and help him?"

"No, he's just toying with her, getting her to release all the frustration."

"Sex would be easier," Atin winked at Laseema, as he drank milk from the carton.

"Rav'll have you for doing that," Parja said.

"Who's gonna tell?" he mocked.

They returned to the fight outside, she was starting to slow, they could see each laboured breath in cold air.

Then they collectively winced when Niner took one to the groin.

He fell to his knees when she punched him with all her might in the face.

That was it.

He'd had enough.

Niner sprung up in one fluid movement.

"You fight dirty, like five-oh-first."

"_Fek_ you," she said as they circled one another.

"And a real lady I see?"

She raced forward and he grabbed her arm and swung her away. Gem landed face first into the snow.

"Come on! Didn't Rex teach you anything? Get up!"

"_Don't you ever speak_ _his name,_" she screamed and made one final attempt. It was useless, he merely deflected her again, using her momentum to send her spiralling back onto the icy ground.

"Enough?"

"_NO!_" She stared at him and with all the effort she could muster she ran at him one last time.

Niner twisted her around with such speed, she felt his hot breath against her neck as he jerked her arms back tight before pushing her away.

"_Enough Gem, enough!_"

She just lay there panting.

Niner dropped to his knees next to her, his hands resting on his thighs. He was breathing hard, it was cold and he was tired, even for an ex-commando.

He tasted the blood on his cut lip and looked at it as he wiped his finger across his mouth.

"Come on, let's go in?"

"Just leave me here."

"You know I won't do that," he said as he turned to look at her. He felt her pain then, the sadness. "Nothing is that bad Gem_, _believe me when I say_ nothing_ is that bad."

"Yes it is," she whispered.

"Come on," he said gently, getting up and putting his hand down for her to grab.

Gem looked at it for a moment before she reached up and took it. Niner pulled her to her feet and quickly scooped her up into his arms.

There she rest her head against his chest and let him carry her in.

In her mind it was over.

She had lost another fight.

She had faced her demons; she was done.

Finally, she was done.

.

There was a hive of activity that surrounded them as they waked into the house. Gem didn't take her eyes off Niner until the last second when she was moved into the kitchen. She was trembling uncontrollably, hypothermia had set in.

Soaked to the skin Laseema started to undress her as Mij took her vitals. "Keep her still, warm some towels in the driers, not too hot," he ordered. She slowly watched them working above her. Her eyes wanted to close.

"Keep awake Ma'am, look at me," Mij was saying. She tried to say something but she didn't even recognise the words as they came out.

"Niner, you OK?" Mij called behind him to the commando.

"I'm good," he said shivering as he stripped out of his wet clothes. Atin handed him some sweats and he quickly redressed. He had enough muscle and body fat to protect him from the elements, unlike Gem who had no reserves. Parja arrived with some warm towels which were quickly placed over her core body to try and raise her temperature slowly.

Then there was nothing else to do.

But wait.

.

There was a palpable shift in the Universe that night, each from opposing quadrants.

Rex had asked Ahsoka to join him in his room and soon, with Piia they would become a new family.

And in a dark room on a snow covered planet a man sat. His watch had only just begun, but Walon Vau wasn't one to walk out on something he had started.

He had found her for a reason.

Little did he know that it was one that would destroy the very fabric of the family they had created in years to come.

...

There you go smartypants Sly - better? 782


	52. Chapter 52

**Fifty One**

* * *

Atin was at the kitchen table with Niner who sat over a bowl of steaming soup. Nursing a swollen lip, he was tentatively spooning the hot broth into his mouth when Kal entered.

"You OK son?"

"All good."

Kal had a long memory. He remembered the history where this woman was concerned. "Did she say anything?"

"No," was his only reply.

"Atin?" Laseema had quietly walked into the kitchen behind them, "I think we should get Mij to take another look at her."

"Something wrong?" Kal said.

She nodded and Atin quietly stood and made his to the Infirmary without question.

.

"OK, what have we got here?" Mij said with a gentle smile on his face as he made his way into her room.

.

Twenty minutes later he joined them at the kitchen table. Laseema immediately got up and grabbed a mug and filled it with freshly brewed _caf._ He blew out a long breath and sat back in his chair looking at the hot liquids steam rising in front of him. Atin was tired. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and let out a long yawn, "well doc?"

"I gave her a sedative; she should sleep for at least ten hours. She's incoherent, exhausted - physically and mentally. She has a scar that won't heal down her right side. I've never seen anything quite like it. She's underweight, and suffering from depression. I might get Jusik to see if he can help in some way, offer some peace. I can help her medically, but it's the other stuff," he broke off.

"She didn't say anything about what had happened to her?" Niner was keen for any more information.

He still couldn't believe it was her, at Kyrimorut.

"No, nothing."

.

Vau knocked at the small room's door, before he opened it and went inside.

He was never one for formalities.

She was lying fully dressed on the bed. Turning her head slightly to see who it was, Gem began to sit up.

But it hurt.

It all hurt; her head, her body.

Her broken heart.

"Thought you might like to take a walk and get some fresh air," he said, looking around and sniffing the stale room.

She had never met anyone quite like him.

Gem rose up from the bed unsteadily. Vau put out his arm for her to hold and they escaped the room she had made her prison for the first time in a week.

For all intents and purposes, it was a beautiful day.

Cold, but the sun reflecting off the snow made the landscape glisten with optimism.

'_Spring was coming,'_ she thought, and as quickly as she acknowledged it the sadness knocked back on her soul.

So Gem shut down again.

_It would have been easier if I died._

They walked without talking until she stopped and turned to look at him.

"Why did you bring me here?"

It was a valid question, one she just wanted an honest answer to.

She could see him thinking before he motioned for her to sit on a log. It was covered in a fine layer of snow and she watched as he dusted it off with his bare hands. Gem could tell he came from aristocracy. It was the subtle things that were bred in him; slight gestures that she had picked up on and ones he didn't try and hide under his gruff exterior.

He too, had a story.

She could see it in his eyes as they squinted in the bright light.

So there they sat.

It wasn't awkward, on the contrary, she felt most comfortable around Vau.

She had heard what they others said about him.

How Laseema would cut his throat in his sleep after what he did to Atin.

But because of Walon they had all survived. His harsh and sometimes unjust training had meant they were alive to enjoy life away from the army.

Even if it was hidden in an underground fortress on an ice covered planet in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Gem looked up to the sunlight and closed her eyes, there was no warmth in it, but it felt good, none the less.

Then he spoke, without warning, answering her earlier question.

"Anyone desperate enough to sell their body _and hair_ for credits is worth saving."

She looked away embarrassed as he clasped his hands together in front of him and continued, "anyone willing to part with something so valuable_ had_ to be saved. You didn't belong there Gem, I could see that. And while you think you're not worth saving, the people here think otherwise. You did your bit for the Republic, now let us do something for you."

She took a long time to reply.

"I don't think I will ever get over it, what happened I mean."

"Sometimes," he chose his words carefully, "you don't need too; you just need to keep moving forward. Try as you want, you can't change the events of the past. What happened can mould your future though; make you a better person."

"I can't see how the death of three people I loved the most in the universe can make me a better person."

"No, you're right, I'm talking _osik._ But you were right when you said everyone had story at that table. Darman has always been a selfish _di'kut _thinking only about himself. Truth of the matter was that Etain should have never been on that bridge that night. No way around it. _Fekking Jetii._ But we made a promise, Kal and I. To look after the boys. _Men._ They're not boys anymore," he uttered to himself. "All we can do is offer support to one another, be there when someone wants to talk or give them space when they need it. The Republic made them but offered them nothing more than an early grave."

Silence.

"It's a lonely universe out there Gem," his change in tone made her look at him, and she could see he meant it, "believe an old Bounty Hunter like me."

It was now or never.

He had brought her here.

Witnessed the outpouring of grief.

He deserved to know the truth.

"Rex was everything to me," the words spilled out together with the angst and pain she alone associated with them.

He smiled with the admission and said, "he was a good man. A _great _soldier."

And with those few words, the floodgates opened and Gem, for the first time told her story.

Every gory, funny, heartfelt, angry moment of it.

To his credit, and upbringing, Vau just sat and listened, never interrupting; laughing with her and at times, holding her when she faltered.

And for the first time in his life, Vau finally knew why Kal had been a right royal pain in the _shebese _when it came to the men.

He understood it then.

His heart too, was big enough to love after all.

...


	53. Chapter 53

**Fifty Two**

* * *

Nothing could hold back the seasons.

Days have a habit of turning into weeks.

Seconds, minutes, hours.

Time.

Forever accumulating.

Treading water.

Again.

_Always._

The snow began to thaw and Gem could now distinguish the tiny tips of green as they made their way through the brown mud.

And with the warmer weather, came optimism.

How she tried to shun it.

But through some warped twist in fate, she had managed to find herself part of a another community.

One that didn't judge; one that didn't question.

They wanted to help too.

It was time to bury the past.

At least outwardly anyway.

She could now verbalise that both Rex and Piia were gone.

Acknowledge the atrocity that had happened.

No longer did she antagonise the wound that Skywalker slashed down her side.

It began to heal.

Because she was.

_Healing._

There was however, no excusing her behaviour that night.

The outrage and verbal assault on Darman was deplorable.

Her grief had got the better of her. Like a wave, it couldn't be contained, crashing and consuming everything in it's wake.

But with her admission came resolution.

And acceptance.

She didn't have to punish herself further.

And that made a small difference.

She would intermittently join them for dinner, making it a point to get to the table at least once a week. There she would sit and listen and instead of just pushing the food around on her plate, she began to actually eat.

She knew she had to regain strength.

And resolve.

She would need it for when she'd leave.

And Gem knew that these were just the people to help.

.

Tash watched as Fives began to dress.

He sat on the bed and gingerly bent forward to place his feet into his underwear, pulling them up to his knees, she saw him brace himself and stand quickly to lift them up and on, sitting down again with a muffled groan.

Then he would do it all again, with his trousers. Then he remained standing and zipped up the fly and secured the button. She smiled as she watched him thread his belt through.

He had gained weight and muscle mass since Rex had arrived – two belt notches worth.

He walked over to the clothes hanger and his shirt. His right arm would always go on first followed by an awkward movement to capture his left.

There he blew out a painful breath.

Tash had to turn away. It was as hard for her to watch as it was for him to dress.

Fives did up the buttons, slowly but not missing one.

It was a new shirt. One she had bought especially for the occasion.

Fives then sat back down on the bed. He was only half way done. His socks and shoes would bring another round of discomfort.

"Here, let me help you with those," she said moving around and picking up the socks.

"No, it's ok. I've got it."

"Please?"

She took his non-reply as a _yes._

Tash knelt before him.

Fives looked up from under his brow and smiled at her between his legs.

That cheeky boyish grin would always find a way to sneak through.

But there was something different about him. Tash couldn't quite put a finger on it.

She was worried.

He had recovered as much as he was ever going to, and with the new regime of exercise, he was beginning to move more freely.

Until recently.

"You know," she said as she pulled on the first sock, "Ovet will be here any minute. Why don't you get her to look you over?"

"Why?"

"Well, and this is just an observation, but you seem to be struggling a little. You seem very stiff every morning."

"I can tell you what's stiff right now."

Tash ignored the lewd comment.

She placed her hands on his knees and pulled herself up and into his lap. There she grabbed his face, searching him for the green light to speak to Ovet.

"Fives?"

"I know Tash. I know OK."

Truth of the matter was Fives was becoming more uncomfortable and it wasn't from the injury that saw him airlifted out in a crate and dumped on Oriis half dead, or alive, depending on which way you looked at it.

This was different.

Everywhere seemed to ache and nothing made it better. Tash was right in saying it took him longer to get ready every day. He looked up at her and she saw it once more, the helpless look when Fives would drop his guard just long enough to acknowledge that he needed someone.

Her.

Tash smiled and went about fixing her face and hair.

He sat and watched.

_Fek_ she was beautiful.

"You're upset with me?"

She smiled again, he immediately felt reassured.

"No."

"Disappointed?"

"Never." She finished spraying herself with scent, the one that instantly transported him back to her office on Coruscant.

Her apartment.

Her bed.

To a time when they would talk of a future together. One they were now living.

"I know what this is about Fives. But it's not important to me, you understand? It never has. Our relationship was solidified the night Reed dropped me here."

"So what you're saying is that you're stuck with me?"

"Oh, sorry," she said condescendingly, "I see your ego needs stroking."

"Stop joking Tash," he was pouting as only Fives could.

"An ARC?" She walked over to him while placing an earring in her lobe. "You were the best of the best," she laughed and entwined her arms around his neck, "I love you Fives. Now and forever. Just like this. No silly sentence in a language I don't understand will change how I feel about you today, tomorrow or next year. If you only knew it, _it's you_ who's stuck with me. Come on," she said pulling him by his hand, "let's get this over with, I'm absolutely starving."

That's what Fives loved about her. Tash could diffuse an emotional bomb better than any ARC in existence.

She was his, whether he verbalised it or not, their commitment to each other was just as valid as Rex and Ahsoka's was about to be.

.

Along with Rex and Piia, Gem selfishly mourned the loss of her pride.

She had deliberately lost it when she lost them, made it her penance and every tawdry step of her life up until now was retribution for being so foolish on Coruscant.

A nobody, a cast out from society; homeless and nothing more than a broken whore. Her thoughts would drift back to the Devaronian and the words he spoke after her night of humiliation, 'how the mighty have fallen.'

Never true a word had ever been said.

She now had to atone for her reckless behaviour.

And she now had time to contemplate.

Whichever way she looked at it, she alone was to blame for losing everything that night.

She went to the library after Rex had _specifically_ asked her not too.

She had taken and placed _their_ daughter in perilous danger.

In one foul swoop, she had _allowed_ a maniac to take everything from her.

Gem had spent hours going over the events leading up to her demise. After spending so much time denying it and pushing it back into the darkness she was wondering if she had fabricated the whole thing.

It just didn't seem real.

But is was.

What hurt more was the realisation that Rex must have loved _her and their daughter more_.

_He _had come to the Temple and put _his_ life on the line for them.

_He _had tried to talk Skywalker out of the inevitable.

She could still hear his voice, _'sir, with all due respect, you know who this is.'_

Anakin knew all right.

Gem had thought nothing of perusing history, with no possible outcome.

_Other than to prove a point._

To have the satisfaction in saying nothing more than, _'I was right.'_

Well, she wasn't.

Skylar Gem from Oriis had never been more wrong.

On such a monumental scale.

So she continued to work. Collecting her pay and hiding it in her room so she could leave.

Saving all the time.

The laundry her safe haven away from the identical eyes.

The warmth from the driers and smell of detergent was both familiar and comforting.

Wash, dry, iron and fold.

All the same size, but with subtle differences.

The men were slowly allowing their personalities to peek through.

Fi had taken to wearing brighter colours. His favourite was an orange shirt. It would appear at least twice for laundering during the week. Atin always wore variations of grey. He would help Parja in the garage. Gem would tick her tongue when she got to his clothes, scrubbing the areas in need of extra soaking, her knuckles bright red from time in the steaming hot water.

She would often laugh as she placed them in their piles, ready for collection in the morning.

"What's so funny?"

The voice startled her.

It was 0100 hours.

Gem turned around and smiled.

"Nothing."

"Come on, I could do with a laugh."

He was wearing pale grey track pants and a simple white top.

No shoes, he was always barefoot which made him almost impossible to hear, that and the fact it was his job to be as silent as a mouse.

Before.

"Oh it's silly really, just the clothes and the combinations."

"You're used to more fancy things I bet," he said as he grabbed a tunic and began folding it.

"Yes, and no. Oriian culture was never as refined as on Coruscant."

"I never liked the clothes the women wore on Coruscant."

There was that awkward silence again.

They continued to fold the laundry when she noticed how neat his stack was.

Ridiculously perfect.

"You want to go home," he said not making eye contact.

"One day. Yes."

Niner nodded and pushed a shirt into the middle of the table.

"This is Mij's," he said absently and turned and left the laundry.

Gem watched as he slowly waked out.

She remembered him from Coruscant and how he had saved her from making a fool of herself in front of Krell.

Kind and softy spoken, she knew what he would have been capable of.

Then.

Now was a completely different matter.

She also knew he ran.

As Gem finished her shift, Niner would wander into the kitchen and grab his water bottle before heading off for a 45 minute run.

She was envious.

Along with her previous life, she missed being fit.

Gem's strength was returning, but she was still not anywhere near ready to run like she used to.

Jusik was the one who had recognised the light sabre burn.

That was an embarrassing moment.

He had offered to help using the Force, to settle her mind and bring with it some peace.

That conversation ended badly.

"Look, you can't be all wild with the Force here, I can sense it. You're all over the place. In the very least try and contain it or you'll be like some _fekking_ beacon for Vader to home in on."

There was no choice really.

She had to wear the bracelets.

Now they could all see it.

Her curse.

Darman kept right away.

She felt like a leper, some vile contagious person who needed a home.

Well, she wouldn't stay long enough to infect them.

One more month, and she would leave.

Home.

To Oriis.

…


	54. Chapter 54

**Fifty Three**

* * *

Things had certainly changed at the Oriian house built into the side of a mountain.

No one would notice though.

Well-hidden and fortified, to anyone flying over it was just another canopy of trees hiding nothing in particular.

The men had spent long days over the summer fixing and preparing the property for the upcoming winter. The fences were all secure and rewired as well as hidden behind a plethora of replanted bushes.

They worked hard, and with the side trip to Scillal, and Echo returning back briefly, they'd rushed to finish before the last of the orange leaves fell.

I offered to help, and I could have. But they thought it wise that I didn't. The Empire was still on the rampage against, well, every one of us.

Run away clones.

Alive Jedi.

There couldn't be anyone left.

Nothing was spared, even the Hanger Bay doors were meticulously taken apart and with military precision cleaned, oiled and replaced. I'd never seen anything like it. I mean, Rex wasn't in peak physical condition but he pushed his way through each day.

I knew he had that inner strength, but this was something different.

He finally had a purpose.

Fives even found his niche, cleaning the mechanical parts with speed that belied his disability. Echo was a big help that week. He did most of the heavy lifting along with Rex.

What surprised me though, was that they never spoke about the war, well, not in front of me anyway. I was never privy to the conversations amongst the men behind their buckets and back in the barracks. But just like another mission, it was done and I always _assumed_ they had just moved on.

I, on the other hand had a myriad of questions, but I was too scared to ask and break the unity that had been rebuilt.

That time would come.

It was awkward at first, when Echo stayed, but by the end I think he may have forgiven me a little. No one mentioned what happened on Lola Sayu, but I could tell by his signature that he was at the very least bearing my existence in the house.

Rex could see it.

That's when he asked me to move into his room. That couldn't have been easy for him, especially knowing what they both thought, _think_ about our relationship.

But it was just like him. Making a decision, and letting the others know _that this_ was how it was going to be from now on.

Nobody ever questioned the captain.

_My captain._

Tash keeps miscarrying. There is a strong shift every time she conceives then the dwindling energy as it slowly slips from her. I want to help, in the limited way I can, but I am torn.

Torn with being a Jedi and what I am now.

_I don't even know what that is._

I spend most of my time out in the garden meditating. Trying to not project a signature that can be tracked. It's scary, and mentally draining, requiring a new level of control I never thought I was capable of.

_If Sky guy could see me now._

Sky guy.

I switch my mind down completely when I think of him and what he did to us all.

It's bittersweet, you know, the life I longed for, but not completely. The life the men dreamed of, only at enormous cost.

Tash works hard as well. She heads off every morning working on the other side of the capitol to keep us all going.

Protein. We need lots of meat. I never gave those silly little cubes credit. But they were a power house to the men.

I know he is thinking about it all the time, our survival long term.

We can't be seen.

_I can't be seen. _

He walks at night around the pool outside.

Thinking.

_I know that look._

It's hard for me to watch.

I wish he would talk to me more, but I know to leave him alone.

He will when he's ready.

It's coming again, another acknowledgment of what we survived.

It's like there's this huge Bantha sitting in the lounge and no on dares address it.

In devoting all his time to the exterior of the property, then time down in the lab with Echo, Rex was avoiding the inevitable.

_Avoiding, or prolonging?_

There was no way around it, the inside of the house belonged to _her._

Gem was everywhere, ingrained into every piece of furniture, wall and surface. Images of her with her father dotted throughout the house.

Dark eyes that follow, and a smile that could light up the night sky.

And then there's Piia.

If ever there was a living reminder of someone, was their daughter.

The same dark eyes and curly hair.

I'm on the periphery of that relationship.

But the time had finally come to clear out the house and make it_ ours._

It's been over a year and her memory had been honoured.

And like the man he was, he set himself to the task.

That had been an emotionally charged week for Rex.

The process took far longer than expected.

It was like deja vue. Two steps forward, another one back.

Tears, anger and then the feeling of being totally overwhelmed.

He worked through most of it on his own.

It was hard to ignore her fragrance every time you opened the wardrobe, still full of her clothes.

I walked in one day, when I heard a muffled cry only to find him with his face buried amongst the luxurious fabric.

It was like he was drawing in the very last essence of her.

Another emotional watershed.

I find that the hardest.

The open display of love he had for her.

I know Rex must have cleared out dozens of men's foot lockers during the war, but this was more personal. The sight, smell and very touch of the things that were once humming with life were harder to deal with than we all thought.

He was almost at the final hurdle, and putting away the items that once belonged to her would be, in his mind, his final goodbye.

I helped him then, and together we silently put them into boxes for Piia to discover one day in her future.

Then we set to work in converting the adjoining study into a room for Piia.

It was only when we had the room to ourselves that we quietly rediscovered each other emotionally as well as physically. Gone was the secrecy of our past relationship and in it's place a more passionate one.

Rex had changed from the man I had known, he was far more confident in his love making than I ever remembered.

_Was that her doing as well?_

I have to stop before it eats me away completely.

The misguided jealously of a woman no longer alive.

So I take on more responsibility with Piia.

She calls me Soka, and is a precocious toddler who has her father firmly entwined around her little finger, not that he's complaining.

He adores her completely.

We had _that discussion_; you know the one about children you have in the early days of a new relationship.

He knows we can never have them together.

'_We_ are a family now Ahsoka,' he says firmly, 'nothing can change that.'

And I know he means it.

Rex never says anything he doesn't mean.

So here we all are.

Rex and Fives out scanning the property, Tash mending minds and me at the house teaching Piia how to colour.

There's a change for you – _me_, raising a child when I feel no older than one myself.

And it was going so well too, until one afternoon when reality tapped me on the shoulder.

I forgot that she was Force sensitive, I mean I was so used to denying my own that I hadn't even considered hers developing unchecked.

I watched as the crayon skirted across the table and into her chubby hand. I was mesmerised and didn't even hear the men arrive back.

"AHSOKA!"

Piia dropped it instantly and broke into a fit of tears at the tone her father had used.

_I knew that tone._

There was a remonstration coming.

"I'm sorry Rex, I didn't - ,"

He moved swiftly in to face me, his hot breath intimidating, "never, you hear me? I _never_ want her to learn that. Do you understand?"

"But Rex I - ?"

He then grabbed Piia up into his arms and disappeared into the house. I was left standing there, along with Fives.

He never said anything, but raised an eyebrow when I turned to explain.

I needn't have bothered.

Fives understood.

Rex and I didn't speak for days after that. I just lay in bed next to him, feeling the anger radiate from every pore.

I'm not even sure why I stayed.

We're all so disjointed.

Lost.

None of us really know what we are doing.

_Playing house?_

Even at it's worst, at least with the war we had a purpose. We were all built to_ fight,_ even the Jedi and this feels like a permanent holding pattern.

Then the question I had waited my whole life to hear.

_I think._

_One I didn't hesitate a second to answer._

Either way here I am, standing inside watching the men wait for me outside.

I scoop up the white bush roses he picked for me this morning and left at the end of the bed.

The colour itself should be enough to sate my anxiety; reverence, humility, purity of heart.

That's just what this is, a new start for all of us.

Why then, do I flounder?

My future has always been with Rex.

But deep down, there's something. I can't quite put my finger on it.

_I can't even go to the place and discover it._

So I don't.

I just put it back on the shelf for another time.

And's that's why I am about to walk outside and smile.

He loves _me._

He asked _me._

Now is_ our_ time.

For however long that is.

I watch as he turns slowly and I notice Fives mumble something in his ear smiling, typical Fives, but Rex holds firm.

His steady gaze penetrating and stripping away any of my self-doubt.

_He is stronger than any Jedi._

"You look beautiful," he says as he takes my hand, "are you ready?"

I can't say anything, I am completely lost in a sea of brown; his eyes that have always felt like home.

He speaks and I follow, just like I always did.

_Like I always will._

"_Mhi solus tome."_

"We are one together."

"_Mhi solus dar'tome."_

"We are one when parted."

"_Mhi me'dinui an."_

"We share all."

He nods briefly and I feel his hands squeeze mine quickly.

It's done.

We've come full circle.

Now I am his wife.

...


	55. Chapter 55

**Fifty Four**

* * *

Niner wandered into the kitchen.

It was precisely 0607.

His running gear consisted of the clothes he always wore, the only difference being the inclusion of a dark blue Harping down vest. He casually tossed a black beanie on the table and moved to fill his water bottle.

He was earlier this morning.

She was usually, long gone.

Silently he stood at the kitchen sink knowing full well, she'd be watching.

Without turning to face her, the ex-commando spoke first.

"I seem to recall that you used to run?"

Gem looked around quickly.

Laseema was humming a tune while cracking eggs into a pan.

There was no mistaking it.

He was talking to her.

Gem picked up her mug of _caf _and cradled it.

_Did she hear me?_

"I did."

Niner froze for a second, then continued to fill the bottle, his back turned.

_Rejection is better handled this way._

"I could show you the route if you like?"

There was a quick silence.

Niner held his breath and waited for the response. It'd taken him three and a half months to work up the courage.

"I think I would only slow you down."

He processed her answer.

_She's considering it._

"Walk it then," he turned and casually leant back against the sink.

He was completely expressionless, unreadable.

_Impenetrable;_ just like the suits they used to wear.

"No, _I -_ ," she stammered, searching for words, "I'm not sure Mij would recommend it."

He nodded thoughtfully then pushed off and leaned slowly in front of her to retrieve his hat.

Gem watched as he began folding the material between his fingers, "last chance."

"Not today. But thank you."

_OK, so I'll keep trying._

Niner lifted his arm and set his chrono, before playfully flicking Laseema across her bottom with the hat.

"Hey!" she laughed back as he quickly dodged her recount and opened the back door.

The cool air swept inside the kitchen.

Along with Rav Braelor.

"Brass monkey weather out there this morning Niner," she said, shaking her jacket.

"That's why _your lot_ are still in bed waiting for their morning cup of _shig_?"

"No," she replied, "I just taught _mine_ common sense. Unlike Kal." She moved past him and made a bee-line for the _caf._

Niner pulled the beanie down low on his forehead and disappeared into the misty morning light.

Rav pulled out her chair, the scraping sound making Laseema tick her tongue with disdain.

"He's sweet on you," Rav said as she thumped her mug down loudly.

Everything about her was loud.

"Don't be ridiculous," Gem stood and quickly put hers into the sink.

_Don't be ridiculous._

.

"You know," Øvet said as she placed her med scanner back into it's sleeve, "I'm no expert in this area Fives, but I'd hazard a guess that this looks very much like early onset arthritis. Here," she punched some buttons on her data pad. "I've prescribed some anti-inflammatories specifically for joint discomfort. You know this is age catching up with you," she laughed, "that, and years of bacta regeneration. You should really see a rheumatologist in Longinnes."

Fives nodded as he began the laborious job of doing up the buttons on his shirt, "you know I can't do that."

Tash remained quite as she stood in the corner, her mind going over the words.

'_This is age catching up with you'._

This was her window, and she decided to go for it.

"Øvet, you're right. The men are ageing faster. They were bred too."

"Tash!"

She ignored Fives and continued.

"Do you know any geneticists? One that can be trusted?"

Fives stood, the room shaking with his anger, "Tash! By the core…!"

She knew she had spoken out of turn. They had all agreed that any talk of cloning should be run past Rex first, but time was knocking on Fives' back, knees, shoulders, _fek_, every joint in his rapidly aging body.

If he was going to survive through the next winter without becoming a cripple, she needed to speak up now.

"I know what you're saying Fives, but _we have_ to ask," she pleaded, "I don't know anyone in Longinnes and believe me, _I've asked_. Øvet has connections with the University." She turned to the other woman, "surely _you must_ know someone? A student perhaps?"

Øvet could see the desperation written all over her face. She looked to Fives again and sat down on the bed.

"I think you need to explain everything, and _I mean everything,_ to me."

.

Jesse wrapped the scarf around his face and pulled up the hood on his coat. It was windy and cold and he walked slowly to the shuttle terminal. He held his ticket out to the Shistavanen and had it scanned before he entered the craft, this one heading to Anaxis IV. There he would wait and buy another passage back to Kayl.

Kyp had left weeks ago, when he never returned back to the ship after finding Chopper and Coric.

The joy of finding his unit brothers was soured by the impending demise of the younger medic. Jesse couldn't stay. Watching Whisk suffer towards the end had only brought back memories of the others.

Echo, Fives, Hardcase.

Kix.

Hand in hand with the memories came the disappointment of Vail.

After the physical pain from Skywalker followed by the death of Kix, Jesse had looked to his partner for support when he needed it most.

But Vail had faltered and Jesse's love hadn't been matched.

When those dark memories would haunt him, he would drag himself out of the emotional slump by measuring it to what it should have been.

The same as Hardcase's and Kix, or how he felt for the captain and the unit.

He had come to the heartbreaking conclusion that Vail was just never capable of that kind of love.

So he stoically pushed the thoughts aside during the day so he could refocus on his mission. The one he made the night he was air lifted off Coruscant.

_Keep her safe, at all costs. _

And now he could see it through, unlike before when he felt nothing more than a noose around her neck.

Now, armed with the knowledge that Rex was alive, he could finish his personal quest.

He had the enviable task of telling her the truth.

That her husband and daughter we not dead as initially thought, and by some miracle had survived.

It didn't matter where.

Once he told Gem, they could work out the rest.

It fuelled Jesse, right when he needed it most. So he would make his way back to Kayl, to the seedy bar and together they would begin again.

Only this time, Jesse knew exactly where to start.

Oriis.

.

Tash didn't think twice about tapping lightly on the newly married couple's door.

They would have plenty of time to consummate the marriage and besides, it wasn't like it was anything new.

If the Obstetrician was to understand fully, she needed a concise account of the work they had started and Rex was just the person to do it.

So there they sat.

Discussing the same.

Again.

Only this time, with another.

There was a moment's silence when nobody spoke. Rex rubbed his hands together slowly and looked up at the native Oriian.

Øvet shook her head and looked at both Rex and Fives. "This is a travesty of monumental proportion's. It violates every ethical code known to medicine. And human kind. As a medic and friend, please accept my apology."

"With all due respect Øvet, we're not looking for an apology. What we need is help to rectify the problem and I believe we are part of the way there."

"My colleagues should have known better."

"How could they?" Fives cut in. "This deal was struck years before the war. Years before we were even hatched."

He looked over at Rex who was shaking his head, "Fives."

"No Rex. Admit it. We are the product of the Sith. There's no one else to blame here. We need to recognise our contribution to what's happening now. We were made for exactly this."

Ahsoka felt the tension rise in the room. "He's right Rex. The Jedi knew that you had been commissioned ten years before the war broke out and no one asked why. We just accepted your arrival and used you to fight an orchestrated war. We also knew about the genetic manipulations. The rapid aging, the superior intellect and strength encoded into your DNA. We had the resources then, the scientists to rectify the deliberate change, but we were all too caught up fighting an un winnable war."

Fives spoke next, he never tiptoed around anything involving the Jedi.

"Did you know about reconditioning?"

"Fives!"

Rex boomed loud that both Tash and Øvet visibly shuddered, however Ahsoka remained still. She and Fives had always had a fractious relationship. She thought nothing of the question asked, unlike her new husband.

"Yes, and no. It was always eluded to, but never spoken. Rumours. Nothing more. The Jedi remember, left those decisions to High Command. Maybe in reality, we didn't want to know them."

With her admission, the room seemed to let out a sigh of recognition.

There it was.

A confession of sorts that the soldiers had all been used; that the Jedi were as much to blame as Palpatine.

"Flesh and blood were never a match against machines."

Both Fives and Rex looked up to their commander. Ahsoka's blue eyes were welled high.

It had been an emotional day, for all sorts of reasons, but they had all taken a step towards the future.

A marriage, a commitment.

Another battle, but always together.

"We've made a start," Fives said, "gene therapy is our only chance."

"That's not to be taken lightly."

"We know that," replied Rex, "but believe me when I say, we've been up against worst."

Øvet didn't deny it. "We need to get it right."

They knew they could trust her. The Oriian had proven her worth when she had silently bought a surgeon over to treat Fives when he arrived on Oriis near death.

For the first time the men had to trust an outsider, not one of their own.

This was the hardest part for Rex.

But he knew words couldn't save them now, or misguided pride.

Only action.

And a geneticist.

…


	56. Chapter 56

The chapter that broke Apple . . .

**Fifty Five**

* * *

The human body is truly amazing. Organs are switched on and off via a network of chemical reactions. Hormones are secreted into the blood stream at a moments notice. There, they are quickly transported throughout the body searching for a target to lock onto and set in motion a physiological response.

Jesse was all too familiar with the chemical scenario.

He knew something was up the second he noticed fellow passengers being herded into a single file as they disembarked.

The source of the rush this time; two gleaming white figures standing at the end.

_Fek!_

The physical response was then followed by a psychological one; deja vu. For a split second Jesse indulged a memory. How he envied the two standing in the pristine armour. Who were they? Would he know them?

Then the reality check.

These men weren't his true brothers.

A true _vode_ wouldn't hunt down his own like animals.

Pulling the hood of his coat low over his face, Jesse shuffled back up the ramp. Another chemical reaction had been initiated, and he drew upon his training once again.

He had been here before; the Republic had made sure each and every trooper was more than prepared for thinking on the hop. Jesse assumed he was alone in the craft, his first mistake. He looked around, there was simply no place to hide. Making the split decision to move to the next passenger bay, he wasn't prepared for the sound of footsteps from behind alerting him to the pilot tapping away on his data pad.

"All off here," he said without looking up.

Jesse was riveted to the spot. He could take him easily; middle aged, slight build. But the discovery of a body would only lead to a search for the perpetrator.

The pilot then stopped, "_I said_, all alight here."

Jesse then played the biggest gamble of his short life.

"Please," he whispered as he pulled the hood back slowly.

The pilot could then see what the crumpled man in the oversized coat was hiding.

_Himself._

He looked out to see the soldiers checking every passenger's papers.

"You've picked the wrong planet to land on, this one's crawling with Imperial troops." He looked at Jesse again and sighed. He had no beef with run away clones; in fact he'd come to know several Republic pilots throughout the course of the Clone Wars. Diplomatic crafts would often land in the shared hangers. The men would talk and play cards with their civilian counterparts to bide the time. "Look, there's a large storage cupboard in the forward hold behind the cockpit," he eyed Jesse up and down, "with any luck you might just fit. I can't promise they won't do a sweep of her, and if they do, you're on your own." He turned and stopped for the briefest of seconds, "good luck," he said quietly as he continued on down the ramp.

Jesse rushed to a port hole and watched as the pilot bypassed the queue and hand the flight manifest over to one of the troopers. He knew he had been true to his word as he continued past the other passengers and through the terminal unchecked. The pilot had just bought him precious time.

Jesse turned on his heel and ran through the shuttle. Searching behind every compartment opening, until he found the storage cabinet and edged his way in.

If there was to be a scan of this ship, it would be in the next 30 standard.

And like clockwork, they arrived.

Jesse heard the familiar scraping of boots as they stomped through the ship.

_Two troopers._

He breathed slowly and silently through his mouth, his eyes straining in the darkness as the two soldiers continued opening and slamming shut the metallic compartments. He had the element of surprise over the trooper who opened the hatch. The second? Well, he would work that out if he got past the first.

Jesse knew one thing for certain; he wasn't going back to Coruscant. This was it.

Then the sound that made his heart stop. The familiar bleep from the commlink that meant there was an incoming message, followed by a voice.

"Copy that sir."

They were right outside the cupboard.

"Oi 21. We're outta here."

"But we haven't finished the search?"

"They want us on another frigate in Bay 8."

Everything in front of Jesse's eyes appeared red, blood was thumping so loudly he felt for sure the two men would hear.

Jesse would wait inside the compartment hidden for another six hours, slipping in and out of sleep until he was woken by the sound of an alarm indicating the shut down of the terminal for the night. He cautiously stepped down the ramp and hid behind some fuel cells before slipping under the infra red alarm and into the adjacent forest undetected.

And then it began to rain.

.

Jesse walked for hours, soaked to the skin and shivering with the cold.

One sodden foot in front of the other, he swore under his breath the entire time.

_Fekking rain._

His wool coat was heavy and felt as though he was carrying a brother across his shoulders. For a second time that day, he wished he had his armour.

As his boots continued to squelch in the mud, he was taken back in time. Memories, it seemed, were all he could rely on.

During parade drills, the young cadets would spend hours marching up and down the flight platforms in the relentless rain on Kamino.

But unlike now, he was always under the protective white plastoid.

With no armour, this was a true test of his resolve.

_His training. _

So Jesse put it right, he reset his mind; he _was_ in the suit, a brother _lay _over his shoulders and they _were_ heading for somewhere safe and dry.

For hours he walked, constantly scanning for Imperial troops.

_What are they doing on a backwater planet like Anaxis IV anyway?_

Jesse checked his chrono for the fifth time, but by 2am the physical drain of moving had taken it's toll.

Each dry breath rasped in his throat, making him wince with the pain. Stumbling with exhaustion, he fell onto the ground, his mouth tasting the metallic mud as it splattered his face.

Things couldn't get any worse.

Wet, cold, alone and lost, a sense of overwhelming sadness caught him in the chest.

_I've had enough of this osik._

Jesse closed his eyes in defeat, but something made him open them. He couldn't help but chuckle as the image of a Xanthinoan came to mind.

_What the fek?_

And then the time he and Hardcase spent the night in Fox's lock up.

_Fekking Xanthinoan's._

Hardcase had been caught unaware by the hermaphrodite alien but had seen the humour in the liaison that had quickly turned south. Jesse laughed and rolled over and was rewarded for his effort; a small cabin stood not more than 300 metres away.

Jesse scuttled under some bushes and began a reece.

It was a small hunting shack. Nothing flash, but at this stage, he'd be grateful for a roof over his head.

If he hadn't fallen, he may have never seen it.

The endorphin high of finding the hut was just what he needed and after 45 minutes watching, he decided to move in and take a closer look.

Slamming his back up against the door he tried the lock. It was well fortified but Jesse had a few Republic tricks he knew he could count on.

Nights of sneaking out of the barracks back on Coruscant meant he had become a master at prying open and jimmying the most sophisticated of systems. This was primitive compared to the likes he was used to.

Jesse reached under his long coat and retrieved a small hydro-spanner, the one he took from Reed's ship enroute to Corellia that night.

_That night._

How things had changed?

How he'd survived was nothing short of a miracle.

So he tinkered away until he heard the slight click that meant he had been successful. Pushing it open slowly he scanned the inside and quickly stepped in.

_Yes, this would do nicely._

Who ever built this hut knew what they were doing, it gave full view to the east through a small opening in the wall. The contents were illegal, he knew that the second he spotted the lines of Manix pelts that criss crossed the ceiling, their fine grey fur the softest thing he had ever touched. He would take a dozen and sew them inside his own coat. They would come in handy for both warmth and credits later on.

Jess quickly stripped down to his body suit, taking care to drape his sodden coat over the back of the only chair.

He worked quickly, firing up the small birko he carried in his pack. Crouching in the middle of the room he began the laborious task of rehydrating a pack of dry rations. His mouth began to water as he stirred the warm beige slop. Coric had pushed packets of the stuff into his pack when he left.

"_Ner vod_, you can't live on optimism alone."

_Optimism._

For the first time in ages Jesse had some.

So there he sat, hunched on the floor over a bowl of food, blowing lightly to cool it down before he attempted to eat.

This was always the hardest part, trying food for the first time. He would nibble a bit from the end of the spoon, then squish it hard against his pallet using his tongue to make sure it was thin enough to attempt to swallow. Jesse had lost weight, there was no denying it and that had become evident when he had stumbled across the others.

Coric had been horrified, and he saw the look of pity all over Choppers scarred face.

That had been a difficult moment.

Chopper offering sympathy.

Jesse had always been vain, even though he looked no different from a million others.

But Chopper had thought Jesse's obliterated voice box more debilitating than his own mutilated face.

"It's OK Chop," he had whispered, slapping him on the shoulders and then pulling him into a hug. There he had held him a little longer than he usually would, trying to staunch the tears he didn't want the others to see.

It had been a bittersweet reunion.

They talked for hours about what happened that night, and the drama that followed, leading him ultimately back to them.

"Garbo's?" He questioned the motley group.

"I prefer _environmental control,_ brother." Chopper was proud of his job, and wouldn't take any flippancy over what they did to survive. It was honest work, unlike Jesse's lascivious past.

Not that he would ever bring that up.

Each did what they had to.

To survive.

And Jesse knew that.

He was jealous that his brothers had got away together and were making a real go of it. Coric and Chopper seemed there usual selves, Boil however would sit near the main group, never with them.

He and Jesse had never been particularly close.

Boil never needed anyone when he had Waxer.

"What of the 212th? The commander?"

Chopper shook his head. "We were on Upatau. Kenobi got away. The commander had just handed him his light sabre when the order came through. Brother, was he furious. Barking out orders left right until we got on the transports and recalled back to Trip Zip."

Then the question he was dying to ask.

"The 501st?"

Coric stood up and shook his head. "Appo made commander."

"What?"

"Yeah, Skywalker, I mean Vader promoted him, the _hutuun_."

"Hang on a sec_ vode_," Chopper chimed in humorously, "I seem to recall someone was made first lieutenant?"

Jesse swung around and smiled, "well, I'll be a Wampa's uncle, _SIR_."

Coric couldn't hold back the smile. Even under the circumstances he was secretly happy to have been given the commission. It validated all his hard work during the war, and it had made it easier to orchestrate the defection.

Jesse stretched and yawned, and then silently clutched his throat in pain.

"Here, will you let me look at you?"

"No, I won't," he whispered back to Coric, "there is nothing anyone can do."

That was when Whisk piped up from his sick bed. In a slow voice he spoke clearly. "Jess, the ligaments in your throat have scarred and tightened from the initial injury. Some physical therapy will help stretch them, which will make eating a little easier for you. I'm not saying you'll be able to down an entire nerf steak, but with time, you should be able to eat some solids again."

Everyone turned to listen to him.

Medics always had a way of commanding an audience. Their voice could always be heard over the heaviest of enemy fire, order the most senior officer on the field and soothe when only time remained.

Didge took it as a sign and smiled, thinking that he must be feeling better to have contributed to the conversation.

Jesse saw it then.

Boil hadn't taken his eyes off the young sniper then entire time. Jess knew that look, one of admiration, affection.

_Sorrow._

Jesse knew then it was time to move on. Whisk wasn't long for it and he couldn't bear watching another brother die. So he packed his bags and left his friends behind, hoping that one day they would meet again.

Jesse sighed as he finished his last mouthful. Since seeing the other men he had become melancholic.

With his tummy full and body warm he bundled up the pelts and fell fast asleep. Everything he owned was ready to grab, at a moments notice, if the need arose.

But it didn't, and for three perfect days, CT-5597 had sanctuary.

.

Jesse stepped out of the cabin and jostled the pack on his shoulders. It was 0500 and he knew he had a days trek back to the main transport terminal. He had checked the flight schedules of crafts heading to Kayl for that day and knew he had plenty of time to make it and board the night flight.

Enough time, if he didn't run into any complications en route.

It was a beautiful planet, but his mind had turned back to the one he was travelling towards; the one with the colourful sand and mystical healing waters.

The one where _she was._

.

Jesse was renowned for his luck during the war.

"_You have more lives than a fekking Dire cat," Hardcase would say. _

Jesse was a ruthless soldier.

Everybody liked him.

Jesse may have organised illegal betting amongst units, and would disappear for hours on end after lights out, but he was never one to shirk his responsibilities when it came to combat.

It was his quick thinking and ability to think outside the box that would surprise his squad brothers.

And luck smiled on him one last time that day.

All Imperial troops had been recalled and he wandering back into the port unnoticed. He simply walked up to the ticket office, bought his passage and stepped onto the ramp of the SSP. There he found a seat at the far end and sank low into the seat.

.

Jesse waited until dark before he made his way to the cantina. He watched from a corner as various riff raff from around the galaxy would enter and leer at the girls behind the bar. He never saw her though, and after two hours and three beers, he decided to head around the back behind the bar. Walking through the kitchen he opened the back door and into the alley way.

He nodded his head when he saw the blonde woman sitting on a crate smoking. "Hey Anik."

"Hey yourself," she replied as she stood up.

"What times does Cariss start?" Jesse remembered Gem went by another name.

He noticed it instantly. The mention of Cariss saw her demeanour change.

"She's not here anymore."

"What do you mean she's not here?"

"Some guys arrive. I don't know. One looked like you and was wearing armour."

Jesses' cheeks prickled as the chemical surge flowed once more.

"What armour? Was it white?"

"No. Coloured and scrappy looking. He didn't stay long. Ate then left. She spoke to the other man for a long time though, before he payed a whole night for her."

Jesse shook his head for clarity, trying to make sense of what she was saying, "whoa, whoa, back up a sec! What do you mean he_ payed a whole night?_"

Anik smiled and raised an eyebrow as she ran a painted nail across his chest, "you know exactly what I mean."

Jesse quickly grabbed her hand. A wave of nausea swamped him. Anik tried to break his grip, but he wouldn't let her go.

"What colours," he pressed, "were there any other markings, images, anything? Anything that can help?"

Anik stammered as he continued to hold her tight. "Maroon, and, and green, I think? The one that left looked angry and had a skull or something on the shoulder. I can't quite remember."

"_You have too_," he hissed in her ear, "_it's important."_

Anik finally tore her hand free, "I don't know any more, I'm not her keeper," she said as she walked back inside the club.

The pretty girl with the golden hair might not have known any more.

But he most certainly did.

The chemicals coursed though his blood stream again, but this time, Jesse utilised their power.

He threw his pack over his shoulder and marched straight back to the main transport terminal. Flicking the credits out in front of him the attendant at the window looked up.

"Passage to where?"

Jesse set his jaw square and said in the loudest voice he could muster.

"Mandalore."

...

A/N: I know, it's been ages, and if anyone is still reading, I'm sorry. My computer died, there was drama with a flash drive and I lost my writing mojo. I hate this chapter, but I am sick of trying to re write, re jig, re anything it. More to come now I have a new Apple - 782

.


	57. Chapter 57

**Fifty Six**

* * *

"Øvet, are you sure this guy knows what he's talking about?"

Tash couldn't help but ask the question.

Øvet took in a deep breath as they both stood outside the small glass windowed office watching the young man frantically tapping away at his keyboard.

But she was in no doubt that Dr Ronan Senran was in fact, the _perfect_ candidate.

Truth be told, he was the only candidate.

She had meticulously done her due diligence in finding him.

Dr Senran had been ear marked as one of the leading pH D students in the genetics department associated with the university attached to the hospital in Longinnes.

His research was raising lots of interest from leading corporations on Oriis.

She just hesitated to tell Tash that it was in genetically modifying Bantha cows to produce milk containing no lactose.

Øvet knocked on the door and entered. Ronan spun around and smiled. "Please, come in," he said quickly as he scooped several books up from the other chairs in the room. The two women sat down and waited.

"The idea of 'genetic engineering' is to replace the defective genes. In this case we're looking at _previously_ genetically manipulated ones." Tash watched as he reached over and grabbed a plastic cup shaped like an animal, one she couldn't quite put a finger on, and take a long drink.

"For the correct DNA to be administered, it has to find, for want of a better term, the altered cell, enter it, and disrupt the protein that's been changed."

He pushed his bulky glasses back on his nose and smiled. Both Tash and Øvet looked at him bewildered.

Ronan sighed and tried again. "OK, so we want repair something that has been changed, right? By using targeted nucleases, geneticist's can induce _deletions or inclusions_. Part of the genetic sequencing has been altered. From what you have told me," he said cagily, "genetic engineering has been used to improve physical capabilities; metabolism, memory, strength and intelligence. But you only want to change the metabolism right?"

Tash looked over at Øvet, nodding, "I think so."

Ronan realised that they hadn't grasped the theory and was mildly annoyed.

"Well, put it this way. If you speed up the metabolism, you speed up the dividing of cells. Speed up the cells, you speed up the ageing of the organism."

They both smiled; the credit had dropped.

"So, the altered _metabolism_ is what we are looking for here? Look, while the work you did originally was OK, it wasn't optimal, so I ran it again from a hair follicle that was still viable."

"Are you sure it was the right one?"

Ronan stared blankly at the two beautiful women that sat in his office. He still couldn't quite figure out why they had chosen him, but he wasn't complaining. Being dedicated to his research he had been completely overlooked by anyone on a romantic level. The presence of these two glamorous women hadn't gone unnoticed by the other students in the department and Ronan knew his status within the elite group would immediately soar.

"I would suggest we use the out-of-body gene therapy, this way we can use the patient's own bone marrow. We'll harvest it, separate out the stem cells and expose them to a retroviruses whose RNA has been modified against the gene fault. Once injected back into the patient, the new stem cells, will zoom back to the bone marrow where they will diligently replicate into functioning copies of the necessary gene. Easy."

Ronan sat back in his chair content that he had delivered his side of the equation as easily as he could.

Øvet leaned forward, "so what can we expect once we administer the treatment?"

"Well, that can range from all sorts of things from fever, chills, nausea, headaches or migraines, vomiting and subsequent dehydration. This type of therapy is not something to be taken lightly."

"Have you found the metabolic deviation?"

"Yes, yes I think I have. Look," he swung back around to his monitor and began tapping away again. "I have started on a Phase 1 trial, of sorts, with a litter of Gin Mice. I introduced a selection of genetic manipulations into the mouses DNA."

The woman peered over his shoulder at the tiny white mice with enormous ear, native to Oriis. "And I think I may have found the right one."

A video sprang to life in front of them.

"These two can't remember the maze sequencing which should be easy for the Gin mouse considering the labyrinth's of their burrows. There's no other word for these two other than they are just plain dumb."

Ronan was thoroughly engrossed in his findings.

"These two are weak, and I'm figuring this was the strength deviation. But these last two are the ones most interesting. They grew at an alarming rate and are displaying obvious signs of early onset dementia, arthritis and ageing. They have since been euthanised and I am waiting for the histology to come back." He turned around and took off his glasses. "But I am pretty sure this is the manipulation we are looking for."

The two women sat in silence. It was Øvet who broke the silence. "What do we do now?"

"Well," Ronan said, "we need to do a Phase 2 trial and get the vaccine ready to - "

"No," Tash said a little too quickly, "we need the vaccine to trial now."

Ronan stared at Øvet, "I don't think you understand the full ramifications of starting a live trial without going through the correct protocols. I can't - ."

"Thank you for all the work you have done Ronan, this is truly wonderful," she gave Tash a look, signalling that it was time to leave.

Ronan stood quickly, "can I just ask who I am making this for? Why do you need a vaccine of this type?"

"Oh, it's just a project that we are working on," Øvet replied cooly.

"With all due respect doctor, you're an obstetrician and you, you're a psychiatrist, right?" It seemed Ronan had done his due diligence as well. " I've done a lot of work getting to this point. I think I deserve to know _who_ you're planning on using it on. It's my neck on the line also if this doesn't work."

The two women were professional enough to understand that what he was saying was true. Tash made the decision there and then. She stood and looked Ronan square in the eye.

"You have any where you need to be tonight?"

.

"You did what?" Rex was furious.

"Can you just quieten down a little, he's standing outside with Øvet."

Rex glared at Fives before he continued towards the blonde haired woman, "you've gone too far this time."

"I might have, but I don't give an _osik!_ Øvet and I have gone to a lot of effort to save your sorry _shebs_ from early onset dementia, although right now, if it wasn't for Piia, I'd get some sick satisfaction of watching you smacking your lips together like a geriatric on the front porch in a few year's time. Sit down and shut the _fek_ up, or we'll send him home without further thought."

Rex had been suitably chastised. Fives raised an eyebrow, knowing better than to take on his partner once she had the bit between the teeth.

Rex looked to him for support but he just shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just as much in the dark about this as you are Rex"

Rex was bright red. With his lips pursed in a permanent line, his left hand began the involuntary tremor that in previous months had all but disappeared. Fives knew better than to antagonise him further.

"Are you going to behave?" Tash wasn't afraid to ask the question, she was in this for Fives. "Well?"

Rex stood and searched the room, looking for the one person he knew would be his ally.

"Ahsoka?"

She stepped out of the dark corner, "Rex I think you should at least hear what this guy has to say. When we started this journey we knew this would happen. Echo told us as much when he left."

"But?"

"But nothing Rex, you need help. Fives needs help. Just hear him out is all I'm saying."

Rex slumped his shoulders in defeat. Tash turned and gave him one last warning, "behave, or else."

Again, he had no choice.

…


	58. Chapter 58

TT - here it is, I hope it lives up to expectations? Oh, the pressure, the pressure... 782

**Fifty Seven**

* * *

They ran together every day.

0600 hours.

You could set your chrono against it.

They didn't speak, and he would always run just that little bit in front.

She liked it that way.

Afterwards, a quick drink in the kitchen before the two would go about their day.

Separately.

.

Niner quietly entered and put the plate down on the table.

"Kal enjoyed the cake."

Gem turned from the sink and smiled, "Rav told me it was his favourite."

"We saved you a piece."

Gem laughed, "gee thanks," she replied as she eyed off the fragment, "that couldn't have been easy."

"Ah, but you see," he said as he began to stack the dishes from the trolley, "we've been trained from an early age to resist even the most tastiest of temptations."

Gem wiped an errant curl from her face with the back of a soapy hand, "is that right?"

"Nope," Niner couldn't help but grin, his smile lighting up the room. He then he pointed to her head, "you've got bubbles - ,"

"Oh," Gem wiped them away on her sleeve before turning back to the sink.

There was that awkward silence.

Again.

The one of a person affected by the others presence.

Rav had been right all along. Niner had been holding a torch for the former politician, only Gem didn't know that it had been lit three years earlier.

Back when she was beautiful and carefree.

Back before she was damaged beyond repair.

It wasn't anyone's fault.

She had breezed into his life as of no consequence and he had set himself an impossible target.

Until now.

Unbeknown to anyone, Gem had been the one person Niner had dared to imagine sharing a life with.

Whether it was bouncing around in the back of a larty before a drop or in the privacy of his own bunk, he would close his eyes and recall almost every time they had met. Atin had Laseema and Darman, at that stage, still had Etain.

So why shouldn't he have someone?

It was nothing more than a mild infatuation. The others were none the wiser to what was going on in his mind, behind the safety of his bucket.

Niner was professional, he knew when to switch it off. The second that hatch light illuminated green he would return to the manufactured soldier he was bred to be.

It was his way of justifying it; a memory too, would be waiting for him.

Sometimes he would berate himself for being pathetic and not trying harder to find a physical relationship of his own. Not that he hadn't had the chance. Twice, it was made abundantly clear, a woman was interested in something _more_ from the Unit Sergeant.

Twice, he had shut it down.

This was all he needed, and he was content.

His heart, although physically damaged, was emotionally safe.

Because back then, she belonged to another.

The captain of the 501st.

_Her husband._

The commandos rarely had anything to do with the regular men. But CT-7567 was a number well known by all who served in the GAR. Notorious, reckless, he was once the symbol of the almost impossible. His face plastered all over the holonet, Rex was seen as the quintessential pin up boy for the Republic.

Him and Skywalker

And look where that got them.

Both dead; one physically, the other mentally.

"Here, let me help," Niner walked over to Gem and placed the dishes around her into the sink, his hand briefly touching hers under the warm water.

Time suddenly froze.

Gem could feel his warm breath against her neck.

He was so close.

Niner wasn't sure if it was the soapy water, her soft hand or just the Universe letting him know that the time was _finally_ right.

It was a case of now, or never.

Slowly he moved his hands out and leaned them either side of the sink, his body enclosing hers entirely.

Gem looked up into the small window to see his eyes reflected back at her.

She then watched, mesmerised, as he moved his nose ever so slowly up against her neck, always gauging for her reaction.

She listened to herself breathe as he began to nuzzle the back of her head slowly.

She was incapable of thinking, and instinctively inclined her head to the left, opening herself up to him, only breaking his steady gaze when her eyes partially closed. Then the moment when his lips touched her skin in the most tentative of kisses. That was when she sank back into him fully as he continued to work his mouth against the length of her neck.

Gem was completely lost in a memory, a sensual indulgence at the expense of a man who idolised her. But at that moment, she didn't care. She couldn't think past another who once made her feel the same.

"Hey Niner, Kal want to know, oh, sorry," Atin inadvertently had interrupted them.

The pair had been caught out with their emotions laid bare.

Gem quickly swivelled out from under Niner, ramming her thigh into the corner of the large wooden table. "Argh! It's OK, I'm OK," she stammered as she limped out of the kitchen clutching her leg.

"Sarge," Atin began, but Niner just lifted his hand. It was an unspoken gesture, letting Atin know there was no need to apologise.

Atin looked to the abandoned piece of uj cake on the plate, "this anyone's?"

"It's got your name written all over it brother," Niner said as he left, as quietly as he came.

...


	59. Chapter 59

**Fifty Eight**

* * *

Echo sat heavily in the chair. It was late and he watched, mildly amused at Freya as she bustled about, searching every nook and cranny.

"What _in the heavens,_ are you doing?"

"Oh," she replied exasperated, "Marlo's lost her favourite - g_otcha!_ There you are," she continued as she pulled the toy from it's hiding spot.

It was partially hooked around a black strap and as she tugged, a bag came sliding out along with it.

"What's this?"

Echo looked up, "my old pack. Just chuck it," he yawned.

"You sure? There's still stuff in it?"

"Yep, get rid of it." He stood, "I'm tired, you mind if I go to bed?"

"No, of course not," Freya replied. She stood alone in the room, the rest of the house were also in their beds, tucked up and asleep for the night. So she sat, in the chair Echo had just vacated, still holding the pack, dusty from disuse.

She then eyed it thoughtfully, and even though he had said to throw it away she didn't think twice about unfastening the zip.

And the past.

.

Rex stood, with his hands firmly on his hips. He may not have been at his physical best, but he was non the less intimidating.

Ronan made an attempt to swallow the seemingly enormous lump that had formed in the back of his throat. But no matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn't go down.

A small voice managed to escape, "_n-nice_," he squawked before he cleared his throat once again, "I mean, good to meet you, ah, Sir?"

Rex said nothing to help alleviate some of the young man's nerves. Nothing, to help make him feel the slightest bit more comfortable.

Ronan quickly wiped a sweaty hand down the front of his sweater and then extended it in another attempt to break the ice.

Rex shifted his line of sight only to consider the outstretched limb.

Tash pushed past him in disgust. She knew exactly what he was doing and wasn't about to play the power game the soldiers seemed to derive sick pleasure from.

"Just ignore it _Doctor_ Senran," she emphasised his title, "would you like something to drink or eat?"

"No, no, I'm good," he said as he tentatively side stepped Rex only to run straight into Fives.

"Fuck, oh sorry," he turned to Tash, "you didn't say there would be two of them!" He was annoyed now that the women had neglected to tell him the full story.

Yes, they had finally come clean and admitted that they needed the gene therapy _'for a friend.'_

Yes, Ronan had also been sworn to secrecy.

But what they hadn't divulged was, that the treatment they were so desperate to procure was for men wanted by the notorious new Galactic regime.

Ronan wasn't an idiot. He watched the holonet. He knew about AWOL clone soldiers and more importantly, what it meant to deserters if they were caught.

"Why should we trust you?" Rex's voice was loud and Ronan flinched slightly.

It was his chance to be a part of something exciting and dangerous. It was also an opportunity for him to prove himself as bonafide scientist.

Someone needed _his_ help and expertise. For the first time he held all the cards, the years of study and locking himself away was about to pay off.

Tenfold.

So he stood a little straighter even though he was dwarfed by the two men.

"Because I'm good. _Damn good_ in fact, at what I do," he said as he pushed his glasses back on his nose.

Rex relaxed.

He had squared off against this young man just like a shiny straight out of Kamino. He also used to say the same thing himself.

Once.

Rex moved towards the table and sat, every sinew in his body on edge.

Again, he felt obligated to another, powerless in controlling his own destiny.

He hated that the most.

Ronan followed suit and sat, attempting a nervous smile, "I'd just like to say thank you."

"I haven't done anything yet," was Rex's deadpan reply.

"No, I mean, thanks, for you know? The war and everything." Rex somewhat bewildered, watched as Ronan leant down and opened his briefcase. Something deep inside told him that this young man was the real deal. Dr Ronan Senran, molecular geneticist was impressive and Rex was about to learn just how so over the ensuing days.

In more ways than one.

.

Echo was right.

There was nothing in the old pack of any value; a comb, some papers with his intricate scribblings on them, a manual and a blue cotton shirt. Freya pulled it out and shook it open, her attention drawn to the emblem embossed in red on the pocket.

CMC.

She knew what the letters stood for.

Citadel Medical Centre.

Instinctively she drew the material up and buried her face into it. Then she took in a deep breath.

There is was.

The metallic scent of imprisonment, pain, war. But more overwhelmingly, the smell of duty and grief.

The familiar fragrance would hang heavy on his armour when he'd arrive back on Coruscant. Freya had all but forgotten that he was once a highly decorated special forces soldier, an ARC revered amongst his own. But she had never seen that side of him. Echo had only ever been her gentle loving partner and father to their two children. But she had an inkling of his strength when Rex and the others had turned up unannounced and she had been completely dumbstruck at his physicality when taking on his old captain.

But this innocent shirt represented his most bitter battle of all; a soldier fighting for his very existence.

To get back to her.

Freya couldn't control the tears, the material now absorbing a fresh round of grief.

More heart break; hadn't there been enough?

She stood quickly and out of the pack an envelope dropped out. Picking it up she noticed the letters and numbers written on the front.

CT-21-0408.

Another reminder of his past.

But to her, Echo was always so much more.

As she wiped her fingers over the elaborate writing she faced a conundrum.

Would she give him the letter, or throw it away, as he had asked?

.

"That's not going to work."

Ronan sat back, breathless from all his talking and looked at Fives.

"Sorry?"

"You'll need to come up with an alternative. We don't have the original stem cells."

Everyone wore a confused look. It was 2300 hours and it had been a long, tense evening.

"Fives, just listen to what he's - " Rex began.

"You haven't understood what he said. We _don't have_ the _un_ manipulated stem cells. We _don't have_ Stoyan here to harvest the bone marrow."

Fives was, of course right. Rex closed his eyes in realisation. "Is there another way?" he asked Ronan.

"I don't understand?" Ronan was just as confused.

Tash moved forward with a tray full of caf, "I think you two need to sit down and explain everything, and I _mean_ everything."

.

"Echo," she said quietly, "I think you need to read this."

Echo opened a tired eye and noticed she was still carrying the back pack. Truth be told, he had forgotten all about it after the crash landing on Scillal. He had kept it, through no other reason than his training told him to never throw away anything that could be of some value to your survival.

"I thought I told you to toss that?"

"Echo, there's a letter addressed to you."

That got his attention, and he immediately sat upright in the bed.

"I hope you don't mind. I read it."

Echo never took his eyes off her. How he loved Freya.

He then looked at the envelope as she passed it to him.

Echo knew the handwriting. The perfectly round C followed by the flamboyant T and numbers so beautifully written they could only be hers.

Marlo Lane.

Freya could see his face sadden and took the unspoken cue as her time to leave and give the two some privacy.

For one last time.

.

Dear Echo,

I just want to say how much I have grown to appreciate your company and how I respect you as a person. You have shown more strength of character than anyone I have known. You must have wondered why I saved you that night? And to be honest there were times when I wondered the same myself. But I guess there was still a part of me they hadn't completely stripped away. I wasn't always like this you know. I never did explain what led me to such a place. But you see, I did something so terrible that, to this day I can't explain why. I took an oath. I knew better. There are no excuses. But the second you opened your eyes on that trolley I knew I had been given a second chance. To be the person I once was. And through some miracle we managed to pull it off, together. I have never known mental fortitude as yours. Your inner strength is something I admire, and there were times, believe me when I write this, I thought we were both barking mad! What were we thinking? But you never gave up. I can only imagine what you must have thought of me. But I had an ulterior motive. I knew you would get me out. And you did. And that's why I am writing this so that you'll find it one day, to say thank you Echo. For saving me. Your friendship has been the most pivotable of my life. Good luck to you, and may you live a long and happy one.

Your friend,

Marlo

.

Echo folded the paper up exactly the way she would have done, making sure it was perfect. It was important. He looked at the letters on the front once more, the irony of her writing his designation instead of his name not lost on the former solder. He had waited a long time before he had divulged something so personal and he smiled at the thought, acknowledging her dry wit as if she was in the room with him.

It was only after the crash landing on Scillal and her death that Echo realised that he truly did love Marlo. That in itself was hard to understand. He had never known love for anyone other than a brother until he met Freya. But he had grown to love and admire her also.

How powerful are words?

How miraculous that symbols scribed on parchment can convey such a range of emotions. And here it was again; a simple letter, written by a friend just saying, thanks. Up until that moment, Echo had thought he had failed Marlo, but this was proof to the contrary. He had saved her emotionally and mentally, if not physically and the only way to honour her memory was to live the life they both dreamed of.

To the best of his ability.

.

Freya waited an hour before she entered the room quietly. He watched as she undressed and pull her pyjama's on before sliding under the covers next to him. He then waited as she removed her watch and earrings before setting the alarm. He couldn't help but smile, he was always awake long before her. His first duty for the day was to deliver a _caf_ to her in bed before he left for the shipyards.

The shipyards.

Working there was becoming increasingly problematic.

Freya snuggled down with her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. "I'm thinking about resigning soon, taking a break. What'd you think?"

Freya waited a moment before she answered, "where will we go?"

"I was thinking the property on Olla VI."

Olla VI was acres of land in the middle of nowhere, secluded from any prying eyes. It was what originally drove Echo to buying it.

"You know, Marek will be starting kindergarten soon. That farm is so far away from any where."

"Stoyan and I can teach him everything he needs to know."

"He needs to be around other kids Echo, even you had that growing up."

"We were programmed Frey!"

"You still formed relationships with kids the same age, albeit fucked up ones."

It was Echo's turn to listen.

"And besides, don't we need to wait and see how Rex is progressing with the vaccine?"

"He's never going to succeed, _you do_ understand that?"

"I think we should at least make contact and see where they are. It can't hurt to be well informed before we just go and disappear. Come on Echo, let me get in contact with Tash?"

Echo knew that going off the grid would help no one.

"Why are you so fekking clever?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have a higher IQ than you."

"Impossible," he replied as quickly rolled on top of her, separating her legs with his knees.

"Want another kid?"

"Two's not enough?"

"Never enough."

Freya giggled as she let him make love to her.

There was that hope again, and as luck would have it the dream of starting another life would in fact create, another two.

After all, twins did run in the family.

...


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 59_-r_**

* * *

Niner wandered into the main lounge and looked around for Atin.

His thoughts focused on one thing in particular, a conversation he had finally plucked up the courage to have.

He sat down silently next to the scared man and spoke quietly.

"Atin. Could I have a word?"

Niner felt awkward, foolish; but he knew he needed help and was determined to do things right, when and _if_ the time presented itself.

"Sarge?" Atin replied somewhat distracted as he continued to read something on his datapad.

Niner sighed.

This was harder than he thought. "It's regarding a _personal matter_ Atin."

The tone was enough.

"Sorry Niner, I'm all ears."

Niner looked into his friends eyes, past the scar that ran the length of his face.

He didn't notice it anymore.

Atin could tell Niner was nervous, his hands twisting together in his lap.

"It's just, well." Niner shifted slightly in his seat. "It's about Gem."

"I had a feeling this was coming," Atin breathed and nodded for him to continue.

"Well," Niner said slowly, "when you and Laseema first got together, _and I mean together_, how did you know what to do?"

Atin looked blank.

Was Niner asking him, _what he thought_ he was asking him?

The unit Sarge looked as uncomfortable as Atin felt.

Niner broke the silence, dropping his head, "it's OK _At'ika_, I'm sorry to have –."

"No, no! Not at all _vode_. It's just, well I kinda assumed that you'd _done it_ before. We all thought Fi was the only _vir_ -."

"I get it alright!" Niner stood, upset at having divulged such personal information.

_Fek, am I the only person here who hasn't? We were supposed to be fighting a war weren't we?_

He felt young, stupid and immediately regretted starting a conversation that had taken him three weeks to muster the courage to begin.

Atin was the obvious choice, Darman being the last person he could have this kind of talk with.

Darman had made it abundantly clear from the outset exactly what he thought of the Representative from Oriis.

"Hey, sit down, listen," Atin said gently, "I was lucky with Las, you know. She had experience in_ that_ department if you get my drift, but look," he frantically typed something on to his data pad and handed it over to Niner, "take this to your quarters and _watch it_. It will show you everything about being with a woman."

Niner took the pad and nodded.

"Thanks," he said as he made his way towards the door without looking back.

"No probs, oh and _ner vod_," Atin cautioned over his shoulder, "I want that back clean OK?"

Darman stepped aside to avoid a collision with Niner as he wandered back into the room, "where's he off too in such a hurry?"

"Oh, he's just got some reading to catch up on. Where's Kad?" Atin asked, tactfully changing the subject.

…


	61. Chapter 61

**Sixty**

* * *

"Ahsoka."

As Rex spoke her name, it struck him how strange his voice sounded.

'_Strained.'_

He continued to stare at the toilet bowl, willing it to remain still long enough for his eyes to focus.

'_Fek, this is hard.'_

The treatment had finally begun.

Rex had nominated himself to go first, he wouldn't have it any other way.

The young geneticist had found the genetic manipulation from the tissue samples the group had collected from Stoyan. Using a litter of Gin Mice, he then located the gene sequence that the Kaminoan's had altered to accelerate aging.

Now he was introducing another altered gene into the men via a viral host, the common cold.

The virus would slip insidiously inside Rex's own cells, commandeering the DNA, replicate and hopefully introduce the spliced, or altered gene.

"This is nuts, complete nuts you know that right?" Ronan opened up his case and lifted out the plastibags of fluid filled with plasma containing the treatment.

Silence filled the room as they watched him feed the canula into the inside of Rex's arm and then attach the bag.

"Well, here goes nothing," Ronan said as he turned the valve.

Rex smiled as he watched the clear fluid drip in the line.

This was it; his last campaign, Rex's final fight for normal.

To end what the Jedi started.

What the Empire ultimately began.

An antidote that delivered hope.

If only it could undo the deceit and disappointment that came along with it.

Fives had to sit back and watch.

Wait, for his turn to roll back the clock.

So he could age along with Tash, and for the first time in his life be equal.

The men when fit, would pride themselves on being the best in their unit. There was always a healthy competitiveness. The bolt from Fox on Coruscant had changed all that for Fives, but for the first time, he truly felt as though he had shaken the monkey off his back.

All due to Rex.

With his arrival on Oriis, Fives could no longer allow himself the indulgence of self-pity. The small snippet of his pride that remained had been rebuilt to a healthier level, one that made all the difference.

That was the hardest part for the former ARC commander, not being able to help.

He continued his daily routine as he would every day. Walking the perimeter of the property with Fives, discussing the state of the machinery, reminiscing about their time during the war.

But not once did Rex complain.

Until today.

He was 39 days in.

At first, Rex had wondered what all the fuss had been about. Five days of infusions, two days off. Within a lunar month and a half it would be all over.

It was testament to his fitness.

"For the love of the stars, I'm not even tired Ahsoka!"

But it was cumulative.

After 2 weeks, he finally succumbed to a raging head cold; raised temperature, aching joints, and sore throat.

By day 25 it was uncontrollable shivers and a dull headache that just wouldn't go away.

He completely slept through days 31 and 32.

What he hated most was not being able to account for time away from his daughter.

But when he woke this morning, things were different.

Something had changed.

The stakes had suddenly ramped up.

'_Again'._

Rex cleared his throat and with all his strength called out more urgently.

"_**Soka!"**_

His wife, quietly slid open the door and stepped in. Once there she turned on a faucet and wet a cloth, placing it gently on the back of his neck. The cool material gave instant relief.

"Buir?"

Rex swung around fast, the washer dropping to the floor as he focused on the dark brown tendrils dangling next to him.

He looked up.

Suddenly nothing made sense. He had never felt this sick before in his life.

'_Weak'._

But Rex would recognise those dark eyes anywhere.

"Gem?" He whispered.

This wasn't the first time he had spoken her name in delirium.

But clarity always returned.

"Get her out," he breathed.

"Buir?"

_"Get her out I said!"_

His voice could still shake the house to its core.

The exertion however caused a fresh round of nausea.

Rex grabbed the toilet bowl for fear of careering head first into it. That's when he became aware of another person moving in and scooping the now wailing child up under a protective arm.

It was all too much, the nausea, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, the noise.

'_That's it, I'm done.'_

Rex stared at the remnants of his breakfast floating in the bowl.

"_Fek_ Ahsoka, it's bad today."

"I know Rex, here," she helped lift him to his feet, "let's get you back to bed."

He felt the Force pull aid him up. She didn't ask permission and for the first time, he was too weak to protest. With an arm around his waist she guided him towards their bed. Rex coiled up into a foetal position and closed his eyes as she pulled the covers over him.

Once settled, he slept.

He just had to ride this through.

For everyone's sake.

.

Niner left the briefing and made a beeline towards the kitchen. The women were always after something to be brought back from Kalabe, and this was just the excuse to see her again.

"You ladies after anything in town," all three looked up from their _caf_ as they sat at the massive wooden table in the middle of the room.

"Atin never mentioned that you were going into Kalabe," Laseema said as she quickly stood and disappeared out the door to talk to him in person.

Rav didn't need to be asked twice and quietly set about writing out a list.

Niner then turned to the last person in the room.

"Gem?" It had been the first time he had seen her in a week.

Since the last time they were alone in the kitchen.

"All good, thanks."

"Here," Rav pushed past Gem and handed the flimsie to Niner, "and don't come back unless you've got it all."

Niner took the list and laughed as he made his way out towards the group already assembled in the land speeder. Gem walked out quietly next to him. At some point the back of their hands briefly touched. A spark of excitement coursed through Niner as Gem gently folded her hand over his in the briefest embrace.

It was a quick acknowledgement, a confirmation that the attraction he felt wasn't one sided.

"I'll see you in a couple of days then?" he said smiling at her.

Darman hit the horn impatiently, and Niner shook his head in annoyance.

"Be good," she said laughing.

"Always," Niner grinned back.

.

Rex could hear someone moving about the room, opening the curtains and allowing the bright light in.

'_Even my eyelids hurt.'_

"There's a drink here when you're ready."

He knew that voice, but he couldn't quite place it.

Rex opened one eye and saw the figure of a man seated opposite him. Slowly he opened the other eye before he spoke.

"Echo?"

"You look like _osik_."

"I feel like it too. How long have you been here?"

"We arrived three days ago."

"We?" Rex pulled himself up in the bed.

"We're all here," Echo couldn't help but smile. "You need to drink," he watched as Rex tried to grab the glass but his left hand began shaking uncontrollably. Rex looked at it, then to Echo.

He truly felt defeated.

"I have to be honest Echo, I'd rather face a dozen B1's with no ammo than go through this again."

"You're telling me," he gave a lazy smile back.

Rex now knew what it must have been like for Echo, stuck on that God forsaken place, left behind alone and injured.

Echo had done it all without the med droids or Republic technicians fussing around and monitoring every heartbeat.

Those were the days.

The men may have hated the bacta, the smell of the gelatinous fluid, but floating around meant only one thing back then; that you had survived.

They wouldn't waste the stuff, or the time, if you weren't going to make it.

But that as yesterday.

This was old school.

Rex said nothing as he looked to the glass Echo had left on his side table and then to his arm, without the accompanying tubes.

"It's not there," Echo's voice held a level of gravity.

Rex looked at Echo, confusion covered his face, "what?"

"You're done Rex. It's my turn now."

…


	62. Chapter 62

**Sixty One**

* * *

The sound of the downward thrusters firing woke Jesse from his sleep.

As he looked out the port window, he noticed the icy northern hemisphere of Mandalore rise up to greet him.

He had never been there, the planet of his ancestry.

The men thrived on the notoriety of Jango Fett, their genetic template, his antics as a wanted Bounty Hunter throughout the galaxy was something they all prided and modelled themselves on.

But that was then.

Back when_ talking_ the talk was safe.

Now he was about to find out just how hard life was on the Outer Rim planet.

Jesse had time to think on the flight over from Kayl. Things had changed since leaving Coruscant, and he was tired. Tired of being alone, tired of his medical predicament, but more importantly, tired of cocking things up.

He was being overly harsh on himself.

Jesse had spent hours thinking of how things could have been different _that_ night.

He had Gem in the ventilation duct safe, he had the element of surprise. But he had become too familiar, he'd lost his professional edge and three of his closest friends had suffered because of it.

This quest however was his finale, his one way to atone. Opportunity had seen him take another turn, one which had inadvertently led him to Coric and the unbelievable truth.

Out walking the streets in the early hours, he would have known those physiques anywhere, jumping easily off the back of the truck, lifting bins effortlessly into the dumpster. He had followed them around several corners before they were on to him, and even though he was brought unceremoniously to his knees, Jesse had appreciated the walloping at the hands of Chopper.

Given the circumstances, he would have done exactly the same.

This was just what he needed. To go out on a monumental high. So he sharpened his mind. Used the hours more productively now he had a mission.

To reunite Gem with her family.

He would smile to himself when he thought about finding and telling Gemma the truth. Then imagine the reunion after he delivered her to Rex and Piia. After that, he had it all planned. Head back to Anaxis IV and Coric's motley crew. There he would finally rest amongst his brothers, satisfied that he had seen his last mission through.

Jesse then turned his self-pity into anger.

There was no denying that leaving empty handed from Kayl had been disappointing. He had thought that Gem would be better off without him, that he was holding her back.

How wrong had he been?

Finding out that the People's Representative for Oriis had succumbed to prostitution to survive had flipped the switch. Jesse now walked with purpose, with a drive he hadn't felt in himself since the war ended.

Moreover, he was angry in himself for letting his captain down.

How could he explain that?

Reuniting a family was a start.

Then again, had he not left and chanced across Coric he would have never known that Rex had survived.

He felt like a dog chasing it's tail. Questions, answers.

More questions.

Jess' head would ache so much he would lie awake at night.

Thinking.

But there was one thing he knew he could call upon now.

His training.

He knew who he was looking for.

'_One of his own,' _he was told was there the night Gem had left Kayl.

And one of his own meant only one thing; soldiers.

Then others had escaped as well?

So as he waited to disembark along with the other passengers, Jesse drew his coat collar up again and set his jaw tight.

He knew he could do this, he just wasn't sure how.

But in time, the way would reveal itself.

.

"What the _fek_ are we doing here again?" Niner wasn't his usual blasé self, and Atin was all over it.

"Relax brother, why all the bellyaching?"

"I just don't understand why _we_ are needed here."

Atin looked at Niner behind the unusual coloured beskar. It seemed wrong for them to be wearing anything other than the super elite kit they once wore as Republic Commando's.

He agreed with his old sarge, this did feel wrong.

"Here, shove over," Darman said as he slid in alongside Niner with three pints of beer, "compliments of the establishment."

"And what the_ fek_ are we supposed to do with those?" Niner asked.

Darman tilted his head in question to Atin, "what up his _shebese_ now?"

"I'm just saying, if we take our _fekking_ buckets off everyone'll know what we are."

There it was, the sobering truth.

Even though they had escaped the army, they weren't free from some opportunistic local wanting to make some quick credits in reporting them to the Empire.

"Sarge, we're in a corner, no one can see us properly in this light. Kal says this joint's alright anyway. Fi comes in here all the time with Parja. Relax, live a little." Atin slowly lifted his helmet off and placed it next to him and began to drink the cool amber ale. Darman followed suit. Niner waited another minute, not wanting to give in to the peer pressure, but couldn't help but reciprocate the two beaming smiles that greeted him.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Darman said mildly satisfied.

.

Jesse had struggled since arriving on Mandalore.

The incessant cold conditions had seen him fall victim to a head cold that had him bed ridden for the better part of ten days.

Followed by fourteen days recouping the body mass he had lost.

Always one step forward and two back.

But now he had become ruthless, using the down time to research anything and everything about the planet he now occupied.

He sold the precious Mannix pelts and stocked up on protein powder. He'd mix and force down the opaque liquid twice daily, trying hard not to vomit his only source of nutrition back up.

Jesse knew he had to regain his fitness.

And so he began. Sit ups. Jogging on the spot. He even went so far as to thicken the architrave above the door so he could add chin ups to his regime. Slowly, his abdominals returned, along with his muscle memory

In between eating and exercising, he would log onto his datapad and read anything about the culture and people of his home world.

If he was on a mission, he had to be prepared.

And the change in his mindset made all the difference.

Jesse would leave after 2200 hours, keeping in the shadows and away from public drinking places, slowly acquiring items of clothing so he could continue to look for Gem unnoticed.

But he knew his appearance wasn't the real problem, it was his face.

There was simply no way around it, Jesse had to steal a helmet.

That was the day he truly felt empowered. Walking past a table of inebriated men sitting outside in Chevrah, he quickly shoved one into a hessian sack as they brawled over something he had little thought for.

Jesse walked the ten kilometres back to his room where he quickly locked himself inside. There he pulled the coveted prize from the bag, unable to hide the smile that covered his bearded face.

For three days he tinkered with the inside of the helmet, refitting it the way he would have done to his old one back in the day. He adjusted the voice annunciator so that he could, for the first time in near on two years, finally have a voice. Satisfied that the inside was dealt with, he set to task of repainting the outside of his now bespoke bucket.

He had done his homework as well.

Mandalorian's were fiercely protective of their heritage, their clan, so Jesse scoured the holonet for any information regarding patterns, colours and markings until he came up with something that would be safe from feuding locals.

The last thing he needed was unwarranted attention.

Then the day he left his room wearing it.

Jesse felt as though he could take on the Universe.

Trepidation led to elation as he walked slowly through the market town, and with the help of his new artificial voice box, he could carry small conversations about the weather, and more importantly ask questions about the dark haired woman from Oriis.

.

"Don't look now, but what do you make of him?"

Atin leaned forward and took a long drink before he turned slowly to his left.

Niner was on to him the second he entered the bar.

He was always good at the minutia; height, weight, shoulder width. He'd even picked the way he held his head.

Soldier.

Atin agreed with a slight nod of his, "how do you want to handle this sarge?"

Darman finished his drink quickly and placed the helmet back on, "if he's seen us, then we need to clear out, and quick."

Niner and Atin followed suit, albeit without looking obvious, casually flicking credits onto the table as they left.

.

"Gotcha," Jesse breathed as he turned and faced the bar. He had finally made his way to Keldabe, looking for men wearing only maroon and green beskar, and finally his months of searching had paid off.

…


	63. Chapter 63

**Sixty Two**

* * *

Walking around the market place collecting their goods, Niner was jittery. He couldn't shake the presence of another he couldn't account for.

Atin could sense it.

"Will you just relax? He didn't follow us."

Niner swung around fast. "You don't know that for sure. And what if he radioed in huh? We would have."

"There's nothing any of us can do about it now _ner vod_."

"You saw him. You know as well as I do that he was a clone."

"All I'm saying brother," Atin said slowly, "is that I would be more worried about missing something on Rav's list than someone standing alone at a bar. Have you got everything?"

"Yeah. Nah," Niner shook his head, "just have one more thing to get. I'll see you back at the RV."

Atin watched as his friend turned and thumped down the lane way. People stood aside as he made his way through the market place, his demeanor looking almost as menacing as the armour they used to wear.

"Fek," was all Atin said as he looked around behind the anonymity of his helmet.

.

Kal said nothing to the men on the trip back to the compound.

There they silently sat, gently bobbing around in the back of the speeder, all lost in their private thoughts.

Niner had seen Kal talking at length with the bar owner while he sat with Atin and Darman.

None of them had discussed the figure they had seen in the bar, but they had fallen back into training mode once they left, splitting up and waiting to see if the lone figure resembling one of them dared to follow.

But he didn't.

Niner was a bag of nerves, this first trip out of Kyrimorut had tested his anxiety.

He was wound tight, he could feel it in his chest. The uncomfortable tightness that he thought he had learned to control.

Being part of Kal's clan came with baggage.

.

As the speeder pulled up one klick out, Kal looked back at the three identical faces peering back at him.

For a second, he was caught in a fleeting moment of _deja vu_.

The same three dark heads all looking to him as children, frightened and in need of guidance.

'_Reassurance_,' he reminded himself.

"Ok," he said a little more upbeat than usual, "we all know the drill. We'll wait it out here for an hour to see if anyone is interested in getting to know us on a more _personal_ level."

Niner watched as Kal rubbed his head a few times before he closed his eyes. He knew better though, he knew that Kal wasn't about to fall into any sort of sleep. Like himself, his old drill sergeant would be aware of every breath each one of them took until the full sixty minutes was up.

Darman leaned back and folded his arms behind his head and followed suit.

Atin forced a smile and looked out to the distance, squinting in the bright light. The trip had gone well, he had managed to get everything on Laseema's list and was secretly happy about the attention he would receive because of it.

Niner sat with his hands clenched hard together.

Something just wasn't quite right.

A feeling that he just couldn't let go.

It was in his nature to worry.

Thinking of every possible permutation and combination was his job, to keep the unit together.

Safe.

As he continued to mull things over, his tongue began to click.

Darman's eyes sprung open.

Niner hadn't done that in months, Darman hadn't heard that sound in what felt like years.

"Old habits die hard hey sarge?" He questioned.

Niner opened his mouth and stretched his jaw a few times to release the muscles.

"Sorry. Just don't like sitting around waiting for nothing."

"S O P _Ner'ika_. We do this every time," was Atin's distant reply.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Niner muttered under his breath as he checked his chrono.

Fifty-eight minutes.

And counting…

.

As soon as the speeder pulled in Niner jumped out first, grabbing as many bags as he could carry he made a bee line for the house.

Kal stood next to the vehicle, waiting for his stiff joints to unfold, "debriefing in 30 son."

Niner said nothing but continued on his way, jostling the bags in his arms.

"Keep an eye on him," was all Kal said to the other two as they hauled the supplies onto a trolley.

Kal knew Niner had changed since arriving at the compound.

Time, the war and disappointment had seen to that. But he also had a suspicion that there was another reason.

One he had foreseen years ago.

An infatuation that chance, or fate had represented to the young commando.

.

The house was always a hive of activity when new supplies arrived. The women would bustle around the table, opening the bags and unpacking the special items that would only come once a month from the markets in the main town.

Gem couldn't help but get swept up in Laseema's enthusiasm; the Twi'lek hadn't stopped talking about what she was going to cook, and sew with everything Atin had brought back for her. Gem wasn't complaining, it made for bright conversation and distracted her from thoughts of a certain unit sergeant.

"Good. They're back. Where's my lot?" Rav trudged into the kitchen and began systematically searching for her supplies. Happy to find them she looked up at Gem, "did a good job that Niner," she began chewing on a crisp apple, "everything on the list," she continued to look at Gem and smiled, waiting for a response.

Gem knew what she was playing at, what Rav had eluded to in the past.

She knew the older woman had been right.

That Niner was sweet on her.

Gem had felt the chemistry as well.

The touch of his hand, his kind words and hours of patience.

His soft lips on her neck…

_'No!'_

Along with the attraction came the guilt.

Guilt, at having developed feelings for another.

Guilt, at what happened on Coruscant.

Since the chance encounter in the kitchen Gem had mused about the quietly spoken commando.

Niner was the complete opposite of Rex.

Where Rex was impulsive and thrilling, Niner was methodical and safe.

Emotions were raw and in danger of opening old wounds that had only just begun to heal.

Just thinking about Niner brought the inevitable round of grief regarding Piia.

A child lost through no fault of its own.

But there was a calmness in Niner that Gem had never experienced before. Like he would know the depth of her despair should she ever divulge the truth.

The whole dalliance had taken her by complete surprise.

Should she dare to hope again?

Her hair had grown and Gem had put on weight. She also took a little more care with her appearance when she thought there may be a chance of running into him, pinching her cheeks and biting her lips to bring colour to her face.

She needn't have bothered, just seeing Niner would call a flush to her cheek.

.

He moved quickly.

Trained all his life to be as silent as the grave.

Dropping the kitchen bags onto the table, Niner left as fast as he could.

They missed each other in the corridor.

As Gem moved through one door, Niner disappeared down another.

He stood at her room and took a moment before he knocked three times softly.

No reply.

_'Perfect.'_

He looked at the tiny parcel in his hand.

The one which wasn't on any list taken to the market.

The one he had silently gone out looking for alone.

He turned the knob and stepped inside. There he held it in his large hands as if it were the most fragile parcel in the world.

And in a way it was.

Niner was laying out his heart, his precious, beautiful, scarred heart for her to have.

If she wanted it.

There he sighed a long breath.

"Come what may," he whispered, "come what may."

.

"Here, I got Atin to get this for you," Laseema laughed as she passed a piece of ribbon over to Gem.

"But?"

"It's pretty," she cooed, "go put it in your hair."

Gem laughed as she stroked the delicate red fabric, "thank you Las," she smiled as she left to fix it in the privacy of her own room.

As soon as she opened the door, she knew he had been there.

A brown piece of parchment on the end of her bed.

Gem looked at it for a long time before she mustered the courage to pick it up.

There she stood holding it like it was a bomb about to explode, frozen, knowing that opening it would set her down a path she had sworn never to travel again.

Gem stood up straight and jutted her jaw out a little.

She had to be brave, just one more time.

She could do this.

She _had _to do this.

It was no longer just her heart on the line.

...


	64. Chapter 64

**Sixty Three**

* * *

Gem tentatively opened the small parcel that Niner had neatly wrapped.

**_G_**

_I haven't stopped thinking about you since we left yesterday morning._

_If the truth be told, I have thought of you every day since we met in the Mess Hall back on Coruscant._

_You walked up to the table and into my heart where you have been beating ever since. _

_Your voice is music to my ears, so I hope this gift, will bring music back to yours._

**_9r_**

There she dropped to her knees and cried at not only the words but the thoughtful gift he had bought her.

Nothing pretty, but the most precious thing she had received in years.

Six metal strings for her neglected guitar.

...

**A/N: Awww how sweet is Niner? This was part of a long chapter coming, but I decided it would be cruel the make you all (for those of you still reading)wait another six weeks to find out what he had given her. God I love the strong silent type... 782**


	65. Chapter 65

**Sixty Four**

* * *

"I'm sorry."

_I wish I had a credit every time I heard those two words put together._

_I'd be loaded._

_Where does it begin though? _

_The apologies are endless..._

_._

'I'm sorry we started the war.'

'Sorry for creating a race of humans to fight that unwinnable war.'

'We're sorry for the injuries you incurred during your time on the front line.'

'Sorry for the men you lost and the and pain caused in shipping those fortunate enough to survive off to be reconditioned.'

_That'd be the day._

'We take full responsibility of our part in the Clone Wars.'

'We acknowledge your dedication to the Republic and your unconditional loyalty to the men under your command.'

_The countless campaigns, the insurmountable odds that we beat time and again. _

_The orders that defied common sense. _

_The quick thinking and dedication of my unit in seeing it through, no matter what._

'You were a credit to your commission.'

_I don't need reminding, I see the scars every day._

'We ask no more of you and with our sincere apologies we will endeavour to ensure that something like this never happens again'.

_But it has._

_Another 'I'm sorry.'_

_Another disappointment to pile on top of all the others. _

_But this one seems to hurt the most._

_After everything, why now? _

_For feks sake, why stop there?_

_Sorry we attacked the Jedi Temple that night and killed your life partner._

_Sorry I murdered two of the best soldiers a man could ever wish for. _

_Sorry I attempted to kill you and your daughter._

_Well, I guess I had the last laugh there._

_Sorry general, __I survived._

_I'm sorry I didn't listen to my gut earlier._

_I'm sorry I didn't report the illicit affair you were having with a Senator._

_Sorry I covered your fancy Jedi shebese at a cost of my own men._

_Sorry I repeatedly lied to High Command to protect your commission during the war._

_But more importantly, I'm sorry for making a go of my life._

_Until now._

_I'm numb through and through._

_ Everything feels heavy, my arms, my legs, even my head feels like it's too big for my body._

_Like a land speeder racing towards me at full throttle, everything suddenly seems impossible._

_There's no where to move._

_No apology can make up for this disappointment._

_So I sit here, looking out the window wondering what the fek I do now?_

_I know they are all staring at me._

_I don't want their fekking pity._

_I just want a chance._

_Age is going to catch up with me._

_I can't fight my way out of this one._

_I know it's coming._

_Another credit to deposit._

.

"I'm Sorry Rex, the treatment hasn't worked."

...


	66. Chapter 66

**Sixty Five**

* * *

Ahsoka closed the bedroom door and walked down the corridor to the lounge.

Echo was the first to his feet.

"How is he?"

She lifted her hand elegantly and placed it on his chest.

"He'll be fine Echo. He just needs to be alone." Echo dropped his head and nodded in understanding.

Stoyan watched silently as she moved to a chair and sat down. Everything about the Togrutan was effortless. Once young and impulsive, he remembered her back then, back when they first met; wielding her twin sabres, with only one purpose, to keep _her_ captain safe.

From him.

How the tables had turned again?

"Would it help, if I spoke with him?"

Ahsoka now understood why Rex had retreated to the bedroom.

To lick his wounds in private.

To avoid the questions following his outburst.

She looked past Stoyan's shoulder to the damage Rex and made with his fist when he punched the wall in frustration.

Her eyes then trailed to the fine spray of blood.

Ahsoka sighed, "to be honest, I'm not sure what to do." She turned to Stoyan, her luminous blue eyes full of question.

Stoyan knew she was struggling with the treatment regime to halt the aging process. Rex had put his hand up to go first, but none of them, even though they had been repeatedly told, were fully prepared for what he had to endure.

The weakness, the loss of weight followed by the relentless nausea.

Only once did Rex falter during the treatment.

"_This is really tough 'Soka?"_

"_I know Rex, I know. Remember the Blue Shadow Virus? We got through that didn't we? This is nothing compared to that right?"_

Ahsoka had held Rex that entire night, frightened of letting him go.

She knew what she had to do, how he would best respond.

She had done it before, not so long ago.

Whenever he was down, Ahsoka would remind him of a battle they had fought, but unlike the Commander, Rex would only be reminded of the men he had lost during that campaign.

Not the victory they had won.

Only the dead.

Frustrated that she couldn't help more than a gentle Force nudge here and there, Ahsoka was truly out of her element.

Not that she was complaining.

Her life with Rex was exactly what she had wanted.

With that promised life came a new level of understanding in the Force. One of concentration she never thought she was capable of.

It was mentally draining.

Whilst she grappled with her inner strength, she was in awe of Rex.

He had accepted the challenge to rectify the DNA anomaly with the same pragmatism he demonstrated during the war.

It was that stoicism that had rallied the group.

Leading, was as natural to Rex as breathing air.

He carried no baggage from the war, and if he did, he never let anyone see it.

Not even Ahsoka.

He just simply, got on with it.

Until today.

And it wasn't even himself he felt sorry for when Ronan delivered the pathology results.

"_What about Piia huh? What do I do about my daughter? Deny her a father as well as a mother?_"

That's when the wall got in his way.

And his words had injured her.

Up until that moment Ahsoka had thought of Piia now as her daughter. But he had made it abundantly clear that she would always be a bystander in that relationship.

Stoyan continued to stare into her eyes. He could feel her dilemma, everyone in the house could see it.

"Let me go and talk with him."

Ahsoka nodded, too tired and disappointed to argue.

Then a small voice from another chair.

"I really don't know what all the fuss is about."

The comment saw every person swing around to the only non-clone in the room.

Dr Senran nervously pushed his glasses back up on his nose.

That's when things immediately got out of hand.

Fives rushed the young scientist, effortlessly dragging him up by his collar before pushing him hard against the wall. Stoyan stumbled and tried to hold Fives back from killing him outright.

"You freaking little piece of rat _osik._ Fuss? I'll give you _fekking_ fuss. All our lives we've been looking after _your_ selfish interests, making sure the Universe was safe so little dwebs like you could sit back at your safe desks squeezing Bantha tits, while we were being used for target practise. I could_ fekking_ kill you for not making this work. I could in a second if I wanted. Nothing you hear me, _nothing_," he spat in his face, "can make up for what we have endured but a chance at a normal life."

Stoyan and Echo pulled Fives back slowly, the exertion causing a fresh round of coughing from the former Special Operations officer.

Ronan quickly moved away, straightening his disheveled clothes.

"All I'm trying to say, if you'd let me finish," he glared at Fives, "is that it's not over for Rex. In fact, now, with Stoyan here, we have a better than likely chance of the treatment succeeding.

"I'll do anything, anything to help," Stoyan said, moving himself in front of the younger two.

"Good," Ronan said with a smile, "because we start tomorrow."

.

Kal cleared his throat and everyone turned to face him. It was what usually followed a trip into the main town. A debriefing of sorts of all the information he would collect while the men were completing supply lists.

"Couple of important issues we need to discuss," they all sat listening.

"Two words, Ord Centus."

The men nodded their heads and Kal smiled.

"Word has it, that it's been decommissioned since the end of the war. Apparently, the only thing that docks there now are opportunistic thieves and the odd skeleton shuttle from Trip Zip."

He took a drink of water.

"All intel is stored on this disc, I'm thinking a little shopping trip for a bacta tank. Anyone interested?"

"What do we need a tank for?" Niner was the only one brave enough to question Kal. Since the heated discussion in the lounge regarding Etain and Darman, Kal had been aware of the tension building between himself and Niner.

It was a ticking time bomb.

The silence hung thick in the room as the other men waited for Kal to answer.

"A tank would have been useful when Fi arrived, and Force knows you could have done with one. Here," he flung the disc to Niner who caught it effortlessly in his left hand, "you and Ordo. Look into it."

"Leave it with us _buir_," Ordo replied as he made eye contact with Niner.

"Secondly, Kiril says there's been someone asking all sorts of questions, hanging around the bar. Thinks he could be one of us."

Niner scoffed loudly, he always resented how Kal would consider himself one of the men.

He wasn't one of them, he wasn't even close.

Either way, the comment got all their backs straightening.

"Want us to take him down?" Another sycophantic comment from Ordo.

"Hold your horses Ord'ika." A hologramme of the man sprung to life in front of them all. "This guy turned up around 9 weeks ago. Now I know it's not a great image, and he's under condition, but his height and carriage screams soldier to me. Kiril's going to find out more and report back next time we are in the capitol. He's had it tough though, apparently can't talk without a bucket on."

It was Atin who spoke next, "we saw him yesterday Kal, and I think he saw us."

Kal thought for a minute, the silence felt longer as they all pondered the image of Jesse.

His hair was long and his face was covered by a beard.

"If he's part of the new Empire, we'll have to - " but Kal was cut off by Niner for a third time.

"I don't think he is."

Niner was now standing, staring at the image.

"He's not RC that's for sure, look at his hip girth. Even with loss of weight and condition he'd be wider. Can you ramp that up Fi? Hone in on his head, that's it." Fi tapped away at the data pad and the image grew in size, magnifying the anonymous brother in front of them.

"There," he said, "there it is. Can you make that out?"

They all then saw what Niner was alluding to.

A small marking hidden partly by all the hair.

"No Sparti has ink. He's Kamino."

Kal couldn't take his eyes off Niner. Three times he had interrupted his meeting, three times he had questioned his authority. "Good job _son_," he said slowly, emphasizing the last word. A gentle reminder maybe, a last ditch effort of control, definitely.

Kal was losing his grip over Niner, and he felt it as hard as any death.

What made it even harder was, he knew _he_ was the reason why.

"I'll get Kiril and his lads on to him. If he's a threat, he's dead. That's it, dismissed."

The men broke into smaller groups, Ordo hauling Niner over towards the back of the room.

"What's your problem?" he hissed quietly.

"What the _fek_ are you banging on about now Ordo?" Niner looked at him blandly, daring him to make another comment.

"I'll tell you what needs banging, your head into this desk, then you'd know who'd need a_ fekking_ tank."

"You must have spent too much time in one_ ner vod_, it's aged what little grey matter you had."

"Can you two give it a rest?" Atin stood between them and Ordo backed down, heading back to where Kal was holding court with Vau.

"What's your problem sarge, you wanna get your head shoved up your _shebese_."

Niner shook his head, "I'm just tired of all this."

"All this _what?_"

"All this pretending we are still in the military. The way Kal treats us."

"He built all this for_ us_. He got _us_ out!"

"And we paid for it ten fold."

Atin rubbed a hand over his head, "what's wrong with you anyway? You've been surly for the past week." Atin knew it had less to do with Kal and more to do with a certain woman in the kitchen.

He knew how hard it must be for Niner not having a partner when most of the men assembled had. He also knew that Niner held a torch for the young politician and was about to begin an awkward conversation when fate intervened and started it for him.

.

"Where's Niner?"

Gem's voice seemed unusually harsh and both Rav and Laseema looked up startled by the tone.

"Oh Gem," Laseema asked, "is everything alright?"

"I just need to find him that's all," she blurted out.

"They're in the meeting room. Debriefing. I don't think they want to be disturb - ," but Rav never got to finish her sentence and watched as Gem turn and leave them in silence.

As she approached the meeting room, Gem could hear the serious tone of the men talking. Vau was in there too, Mird left flopped outside the door as quasi guard.

It looked up and yawned, baring menacing teeth and rolled over wanting Gem to stop and scratch it's stomach.

"Maybe later Mird," Gem said as she stepped over the enormous six legged animal and opened the door.

Heads turned to see who was interrupting the usual sacred time after a mission.

"We'll be finished in a few minutes," Vau said tersely.

Gem ignored him, her eyes scanning the room for Niner.

He was at the far end of the room, sitting on top of the table, talking with Atin when he looked up to see her.

"Did you write this?" Her voice unnaturally loud. She looked angry, tears streaming down her face as she held the scrunched up note in her left hand.

"Oh _Shab_," he said quietly.

"Vode, how many times have we told you, never commit anything to flimsie," Atin smiled, patting him fondly on the shoulder and quickly moved out of the way as she stormed over to where he was sitting.

Riveted to the spot, Niner couldn't move.

If he was in armour and out on a mission, he would have taken immediate evasive action, but this time it was different.

Niner swallowed hard and nodded.

Gem stopped abruptly in front of him.

He had never seen her look more beautiful.

Torn.

All time appeared to stop and Niner held his breath as he waited for her to say something.

This was it. He'd blown it this time.

Gem then shook her head slightly before she placed both hands on either side of Niners face and leaned in to kiss him gently. She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes which were dark and full of question.

She then moved in to kiss him again. This time Niner responded by moving his arms with speed around her, encircling her waist. Pulling himself up off the table in one fluid movement to get her closer to him, he kissed her back.

He kissed her the way he had always wanted, dreamed of when out on a hop with extra time on his hands.

Kissed her like all the ways he had thought of when alone at night.

A deep moan of longing escaped involuntarily and it became obvious to the other men in the room that the meeting was over. They both heard Kal clear his throat and reluctantly broke apart.

Niner hitched Gem up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms went around his neck for support. He then strode past the silent contingent of men, but before leaving the room, he turned and said, "please excuse us from dinner tonight."

…

This chapter is still not completely right but I am tired of re working it. Maybe some feedback would help? 782


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